WHAT CAUSES RUST?
Corrosion is caused when an area of metal has a positive charge and another has a negative charge. Water acts as an electrolyte, allowing current to flow between these areas. During this process the metal absorbs oxygen from the water and forms iron oxide (rust). Salt water conducts electricity better than fresh water so in areas that use salt on the roads, this process is greatly accelerated. The objective of applying a protective coat of paint is to insulate the metal from water. To ensure that no rust is present before we coat the metal, we clean the metal with an acid (phosphoric based, which leaves a thin film of iron phosphate or zinc phosphate that prevents flash rusting), and then apply a zinc phosphate coating which neutralizes the acid, and promotes primer adhesion. Zinc (galvanized and zinc rich primers) competes with the iron for oxygen, and becomes the sacrificial metal which corrodes, leaving the iron undamaged. [Back To Top] • What is the best and quickest way to strip t
All metals other than the precious ones, rust when they get exposed to electrolytes like the moisture in the air. Rusting is caused by the chemical reaction of the metal surface and the oxygen present in the air and form the respective metal oxide on the surface. This red rust is scaly and loose and easily falls away thus exposing more portion of the metal to rust.
The reddish-brown crust that often forms on iron and steel objects comes from changes that take place in the outer surface of the metal itself. This crust, called rust, is caused by the mixture of the metal with oxygen from water in the air. When moisture from the air, or from anywhere else, reaches an object with iron in it, ox
Corrosion is caused when an area of metal has a positive charge and another has a negative charge. Water acts as an electrolyte, allowing current to flow between these areas. During this process the metal absorbs oxygen from the water and forms iron oxide (rust). Salt water conducts electricity better than fresh water so in areas that use salt on the roads, this process is greatly accelerated. The objective of applying a protective coat of paint is to insulate the metal from water. To ensure that no rust is present before we coat the metal, we clean the metal with an acid (phosphoric based, which leaves a thin film of iron phosphate or zinc phosphate that prevents flash rusting), and then apply a zinc phosphate coating which neutralizes the acid, and promotes primer adhesion. Zinc (galvanized and zinc rich primers) competes with the iron for oxygen, and becomes the sacrificial metal which corrodes, leaving the iron undamaged.
