I recently installed the Super Tourist on my new bike and took it out for a ride (in the rain, of course... it's Ireland!). The next day the included screws holding the bracket arms were streaming rust on to my new paintwork.

I wonder if these are stainless steel screws. Shouldn't good quality SS not rust so quickly? Anyone here invest in titanium screws?

If they're rusting, then they're probably not stainless.

You just need stainless screws, titanium would be an overkill, IMHO.

FYI I wrote Topeak support and got the impression that the screws should have been stainless. With a lot of hassle and paperwork they would have sent me new ones, but I already have new ones on the way. Maybe they're having quality control issues.

A basic stainless steel has a 'ferritic' structure and is magnetic.

I make a variety of auto-related connectors for fuel lines, AC, etc. Many of these are stainless. Some are of the "cheaper" stainless magnetic variety. One example is the ring you see around the door and trunk locks on some Cadillacs.

Don't bother with Ti. Just get some SS screws from the hardware store. I did that years ago for my commuter which sees plenty of road salt and they're still rust-free.

This is when I would normally post up a link to mcmaster-carr and a part number for good stainless screws but seeing as the OP is in Ireland I don't think it would be very helpful. I will say this which may help: go to a Hardware store and ask for 5mm diameter x 0.8mm pitch stainless screws. They should have them and cost less than a dollar US for both.