Electronic rust protection?

Anyone in the know able to comment on how effective a device like this might actually be in slowing down the rusting process? Looks like an awesome product if it works.

http://www.counteractrust.com/

 

Cant say I've ever heard of that product. Wonder what it cost?

 

i worked for a co. that installed "cathodic" protection systems to ...gas lines...
we did a system for an air force base here in Ga.
we fused a wire to the pipe every so many hundred feet. over the whole base there were miles of pipe.
i know nothing about how well or if it worked...just that your Gov. thought it to be a good idea.
on a side note...when we got to the newer side of the base they had installed plastic gas pipe...we ran the same wire but instead of doing a fuse connection we just took black elec. tape and taped the wire to the pipe we got paid for...digging ditch...pulling wire...covering it back up.
(your tax $$$ at work) ...frank...

ps. this was like 6...10....18...24..er 29 years ago

 

i deal with aircraft corosion on a dat to day bases theres to types anodeic and cathodic
this product is a spray unit like we use and its very exsencive and dangerus. it staticly charges paint particals so it eliminates oxigen that gets traped under the paint which causes rust.the paint gose derectly to the metal and even raps around it which is cool to wach! but the bad side is is its exspenciv and you hve to be standing on a coper plate whan you aply it if you touch the unit to the gun while not grownded ZZZZZAP there gose your hare,fingers,and toes! it would be like sticking a fork in a light socket!
the air force only youses the units for big jobs now. it would cost way to much.

 

Most of these products over the years have been nothing more than 'snake oil'. The claims have been dubious, at best, so I'd advise caution.

The most effective rust prevention is doing it before corrosion has a chance to take hold. There is little effective after it starts. Just talk to any legitimate body man and he'll likely agree. Many of these have not been the best over the years, also. Another variable is application. Some products end up trapping moisture under them and end up speeding up the process rather than stopping it. Not being careful and getting to all the places that rust starts is another problem. This is why rustproofing outfits have gone out of business. I remember an outfit back in the '70s called Rusty Jones. They advertised over TV extensively, but I saw many cars with the stickers on them they put on after people shelled out big bucks showing rust in a few years. My father owned one of them.

 

i will have to aggree with you on this one.

 

Rust is a electro-chemical process just like pretty much everything else. What happens is you have two materials with opposite magnetic charges. When these materials get together, they neutralize the magnetic charge by swapping electrons, which is electric current.

Now, you can reverse the process by adding electric current to part and changing its magnetic pole. In the case of iron, if you switch the charge, it no longer has the ability to react with oxygen. However whatever gizmo you're using to make the charge becomes even more reactive with oxygen. This system is used a LOT on naval ships. They use a sacrificial anode and electric current to keep the ships from rusting in the salt water. By reversing the charge, it allows all of the corrosive electrons in the salt water to attack the sacrifical metal rather than the ship. It works as long as you have enough sacrificial metal and you pay attention to which end of the battery you hook up.

Since a car grounds itself through the body, this could really mess with the electrical system. You'd have to run dedicated ground wires from every device and also insulate everything that might have an electric charge. It would also mess with your radio reception to I'd guess.

Electro-static painting is a very good investment for people and companies who can't afford to have a lot of overspray. Once again, you're adding a magnetic charge to the part that is opposite of the static charge in the paint and the two go together like magnets. You also get great coverage, even into the hard to reach cracks and crevices. Because you get better coverage, it will help in rust prevention as long as the surface prep was done right.

 

ya what he sead!

 

I had the electronic version they mention installed on my T-bird when I bought it in 93. Was a box wired to the battery and two wires that went to anodes connected to two spots on the car's firewall. It finally crapped out a couple years ago, the status LED on the top turned from green to red. My car has no rust after 13 years, but who knows if it would have or not anyway. Seems to me here in the snow belt I would have had some rust. Supposedly they use larger versions of this same thing to keep pipe lines and oil rigs from rusting. Guess BP in Alaska shoulda had 'em.

 

I have seen these systems used over the years by some serious car collectors. I live in Rust central. They seem to work. But I have figured a better way, I have an insulated concrete floor and then I drive my car over plastic when I park them for the winter.
Dan

 

my car had zebart undercoating when it was first bought in 73 i think, there is a small sticker on back window, i see buncha zeebart plugs all around door jams too, the bottom of the car is rust free pretty much, engine bay too, only thing that was rusty was the 1/4 panels in the rear...

 

My '73 4 door will NEVER rust then.

Seriously, grease? Dosen't that stink?

Here in GA as long as you don't drive during the one day a year it snows, and wash your car at least once a month, rust will be pretty much non existant for many years.

 

I don't know about this product in particular, but will say:
I have seen similar in the JC Whitney catalog for years, if not decades, and figured it was snake oil.
However, down here along the Gulf Coast, we are starting to see concrete structures rot from the inside-out. It has to do with the salt air/water rusting the re-bar in the concrete. When that iron bar rots, it expands and flakes, which in turn causes the concrete to disintegrate along with it. It's a rampant problem down here.
Well, lately they have started putting these systems on these buildings to keep the re-bar from rotting inside the concrete.
Old buildings are retrofitted by cutting a small square of concrete off the top of surfaces, just enough to expose the re-bar, then the wires are soldered on and run back to these boxes that apply static charge. Since all the rebar in a concrete structure is done in criss-cross mats, just a few spots every so often need wires for the entire iron structure under the concrete to be fully charged.
Grout over exposed bar and wires (to hide), and it is done.

That said, it's makes me reconsider the need for this type of thing on my vehicle.

The theory, simplified, is that corrosive forces 'eat' metal.
Apply the electrostatic charge, and the corrosive forces now 'eat' the charge instead of the metal. Sort of like paying homage to a volcano by giving it a sacrifice so it doesn't kill you.
Hey, I said it was simplified theory!


Dave