904L Pitting?

[DateJust74]

I’ve sent the pics to a Chilean friend of mine who’s a chemical engineer with a PhD in metallurgical engineering. He said that even though it could be dings and scratches, it does look like pitting to him, and told me to keep the watch in its box with a pack of sílica until I can get it fixed (which will be when I be when I next travel to the USA, which might be delayed because of this CoVid pandemic).

[Jayhawk1]

I'd expect pitting, as in corrosion, to be irregular with rough edges These dings seem to be elongated and vertical, in sync with the scratches, with soft edges. My world would be shattered if it got confirmed that a few years of regular environmental exposure would do that.... Imagine what your car would like like in such climate:-)

[garyk]

Originally Posted by DateJust74

Yes, I live in a humid and warm place unfortunately. Summers here, for example, exhibit the terrible 90% humidity. For this and many other reasons, I hate that my parents moved here from Portugal before I was even born. I can’t even send my watches to Rolliworks because of the stupid import tax law that will charge me as if I was buying a watch from the USA even if I send it for repair (tax being 60% of the value of the product+shipping, and an additional tax of 25% of the value of the product+shipping). For those taxes I could almost buy another Rolex.

That's crazy for repairs. I guess just find a local talented watch smith? Or can you send your watch to a friend in the states who in turn could have it repaired and send it back to you? I have never been to your country but Portugal is one of our favorite places in the world for sure. Good luck to you!! Just read your other reply, if you are visiting the states, problem solved i guess...

[DateJust74]

Originally Posted by garyk

That's crazy for repairs. I guess just find a local talented watch smith? Or can you send your watch to a friend in the states who in turn could have it repaired and send it back to you? I have never been to your country but Portugal is one of our favorite places in the world for sure. Good luck to you!! Just read your other reply, if you are visiting the states, problem solved i guess...

Yes, I’ll just wait for the CoVid madness to be over and will be visiting the States. As for this, if I’m not wrong about 904l steel, if it’s dings, it’s alright, obviously, and if it’s pitting, it’s in the beginning, and because of not being in a crevice, probably the passive oxide layer has already reestablished itself, so it won’t be getting worse anytime soon (specially if I start washing the watch everyday rather than weekly), so I don’t it’s not an urgent repair. I don’t plan on wearing it any less than I currently do, unless someone who knows more than me reveals to me that I’m wrong and that it’ll grow worse if I keep wearing it.

[Tricolore66]

I've seen that before and it's not pitting. It's probably from a terrible buffing job using the wrong cutting paste, with the wrong buffing pad and the wrong speed of the wheel, or some combination of those.

[JSolution]

Could someone explain what “pitting” means?

[Yep]

Steel zipper?

[DateJust74]

Originally Posted by JSolution

Could someone explain what “pitting” means?

It’s a type of corrosion. As SS forms a passive layer/film that protects it against rust, one way corrosion still can happen is where that layer breaks and there’s an oxidising or reducing agent present, so the metal will develop little holes that will eat it up (pitts).

[DateJust74]

Originally Posted by Tricolore66

I've seen that before and it's not pitting. It's probably from a terrible buffing job using the wrong cutting paste, with the wrong buffing pad and the wrong speed of the wheel, or some combination of those.

If it’s that, I don’t mind it, as this is basically my everyday/beater watch, and quite frankly it’s full of dings and scratches. I don’t mind aesthetic damage, as long as the structure of the watch is fine, and there’s no damage to functioning, water resistance, and so on.

[MoosicPa]

Originally Posted by 1william

it appears to be dents and scratches to me, not pitting.

+1

[donq]

Looks more hammered than corroded.

[Rocket_Man]

Originally Posted by DateJust74

Yes, I live in a humid and warm place unfortunately. Summers here, for example, exhibit the terrible 90% humidity. For this and many other reasons, I hate that my parents moved here from Portugal before I was even born. I can’t even send my watches to Rolliworks because of the stupid import tax law that will charge me as if I was buying a watch from the USA even if I send it for repair (tax being 60% of the value of the product+shipping, and an additional tax of 25% of the value of the product+shipping). For those taxes I could almost buy another Rolex.

You are not the only one who lives in a hot and humid place. Millions of Rolex watches live in hot and humid places around the world including Houston where I live and if those conditions caused this damage, Rolex would be considered a cheap watch. It is not corrorion, it is some mechanical damage. Is it just on that one lug?

[SS Oyster]

https://www.fourtane.com/2015/10/19/...ason-for-904l/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SAE_904L_stainless_steel

Looks like dents and dings ... not pitting to me.

Whahoo! 5000th post!

[AJMarcus]

Yes, there are some scratches. But it also looks like early stages of pitting. I’d have RSC take a look. You might want to post this on the vintage section. Folks there have much more experience with pitting as you would expect
.

[DateJust74]

Originally Posted by Rocket_Man

You are not the only one who lives in a hot and humid place. Millions of Rolex watches live in hot and humid places around the world including Houston where I live and if those conditions caused this damage, Rolex would be considered a cheap watch. It is not corrorion, it is some mechanical damage. Is it just on that one lug?

Basically only one lug, yes.

[DateJust74]

Noticed this on the bezel, on the opposite side of the watch. Enlarge the pics, you’ll see it doesn’t look like the average scratch. I’m also afraid it might be pitting.
https://imgur.com/a/NQZtt7O

[Yachtbuoy]

Honestly all I see is a bunch of marks and dings, and I've seen pitting in stainless steel. As others have said, there's a regularity in the marks on the side of the case.