Just to add a bit on passivation...
We had an engineer at our company that is considered an expert in passivation of stainless steel. He said that it was possible to passivate small stainless pieces in a dishwasher charged with "Tang" beverage concentrate. The citric acid and elevated temperatures are the important elements here.
Pretty cool, cheap, & easy method.
Also, chorine compounds are the enemy of stainless steel. I *never* use bleach to sanitize stainless equipment. Iodophor is prefered.
A friend of mine used to brine meat in a stainless stock pot. One day the thing literally just split down the middle. Now he uses a giant tupperware.
Jeff Dantzler