What can eat through stainless steel?

[MEP001]

A guy who was using Stinger trifoam had this happen:

The hole is clear through to the outlet port. The only reason it didn't run in the bay is because the inlet ports of all six solenoids were completely blocked with something that looked like rust.

 

[JGinther]

Strong acids will corrode stainless steel. Higher grade stainless will be more resistant, but will still corrode over time. Its common for chemical manufacturers to have a low pH version of foam to enhance shine, and lower the pH of the car to help with drying and waxing. If its a high pressure application, stainless is really the only option, but if using low pH and low pressure, polyethylene or similar plastics is best for fittings and valves.

 

[Greg Pack]

i know HF will eventually eat through certain grades of stainless.

 

[MEP001]

I haven't been able to access Stinger's MSDS so I don't know if it has HF in it or not.

 

[rph9168]

I highly doubt that their tri-foam has HF in it but I am sure that it probably has some acid in it which any low pH product would have. Most acidic products will attack stainless steel especially the lower grades of it.