904L - Worth It ??? Case back Corrosion.. in Laymans Terms.

[Tools]

Originally Posted by Car32

Hi Larry, reviving an old post. Is pitting a concern in normal day-to-day usage for modern 904L Rolexes, even with the occasional pool swim and salt water swim without rinsing afterwards?

Have there been a noticeable number of cases with 904L pitting?

Thanks in advance.

904L Steel has much higher corrosion resistance than 316L stee;. There is also a better design with the o-ring channel and mating surfaces in newer models.

We should rinse after chlorine and salt water exposure because when it dries it leaves an abrasive film.

[Car32]

Originally Posted by Tools

904L Steel has much higher corrosion resistance than 316L stee;. There is also a better design with the o-ring channel and mating surfaces in newer models.

We should rinse after chlorine and salt water exposure because when it dries it leaves an abrasive film.

Yes agree, but what I'd like to know is, how common is it for pitting to occur in 904L with "normal" usage where little to no time is spent in a pool or the sea and the watched is serviced regularly, lets say every 10 years?

Or is it rare enough that we shouldn't be worried about unless we're in the pool or in the sea on a regular basis and just really abusing our watches by not cleaning them periodically?

[EEpro]

Originally Posted by Car32

Yes agree, but what I'd like to know is, how common is it for pitting to occur in 904L with "normal" usage where little to no time is spent in a pool or the sea and the watched is serviced regularly, lets say every 10 years?

Or is it rare enough that we shouldn't be worried about unless we're in the pool or in the sea on a regular basis?

It's not going to happen. It requires high concentrations of chemicals (including boiling in chlorides) to cause any damage to 904L.

Example case: It can be boiled in 26% sodium chloride solution for 1000 hours without stress corrosion cracking.

It's of no concern at all.

[Car32]

Originally Posted by EEpro

It's not going to happen. It requires high concentrations of chemicals (including boiling in chlorides) to cause any damage to 904L.

Example case: It can be boiled in 26% sodium chloride solution for 1000 hours without stress corrosion cracking.

It's of no concern at all.

This is reassuring!

[fsprow]

Originally Posted by EEpro

It's not going to happen. It requires high concentrations of chemicals (including boiling in chlorides) to cause any damage to 904L.

Example case: It can be boiled in 26% sodium chloride solution for 1000 hours without stress corrosion cracking.

It's of no concern at all.

100% correct. Materials Science background here. There is NO advantage to 904 over 316 except when exposed to very concentrated industrial acids, certainly not sweat. Just advertising.