coloring of stainless still

Surely the whole point of stainless steel is it is difficult to colour?

Del:

He's makin vodka! He's got a still. If he keeps the flame low enough he can paint it camo to hide in the bushes. Or turn up the flame and let the carbon discolor it.

Heat it red hot and cool down ,see the permanant green blue violet shade................

Agreed!! Steels of various composition (even SS, I believe) will form an extremely thin oxide coating after heating and cooling. The color is actually due to the thickness of the coating and I understand goes to the diffraction of light reflecting from the surface. I once had a textbook on corrosion that delved into the topic. I have done it myself in the lab and obtained a number of different colors, but I am not sure how repeatable this type of study (ie: I am not sure one can use it as an inductrial process and know before hand the exact colors to expect).

The oxidation is also called patina, this oxidation can actually protect the metal from farther corrosion.

An example is the copper sheeting on the statue of liberty. with the patina coating its is protected or at least slows down the corrosion effect from the salts.

Another dumb speller today. Is it "still" or steel?

"Is it "still" or steel?"......atleast ..it is still steel.......

Maybe its 'sill'