davewatson Posted September 2, 2017 Share Posted September 2, 2017 Hi All, I'm doing some research in anticipation of purchasing a 260Z project. I have previously seen electronic rust prevention kits for 4x4's that do a lot of beach driving etc. They're rather expensive, but thought that they could have a very valid application to an old zed. Has anyone played around with this type of rust prevention on an older vehicle? The gear that I was looking at is from ERPS Thoughts, comments etc? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew_L26 Posted September 2, 2017 Share Posted September 2, 2017 Hey mate, I studied this in a fair amount of detail at uni and they don't actually do anything. These are useful when the entire object is submerged in water or under ground (usually salt water) to create an electrical connection. The reason they don't work on cars etc. is because the air surrounding the car isn't electrically conductive (preventing a full circuit). Another form of cathodic protection called passive cathodic protection would be more useful. This makes use of a process called galvanic corrosion in which a more reactive metal such as zinc is electrically connected to a less reactive metal (in this case the steel car body). This causes the zinc to corrode rather than the steel. It's by no means a perfect way to prevent corrosion but when used in conjunction with other rust preventative measures it can provide another barrier to rust! This uses the same idea as galvanised steel, even if the zinc protective coating is scratched in an area it still won't rust as it is protected by the sacrificial zinc Basically, you can buy a block of zinc and bolt it to your car and it will help fight rust. If you do intend on doing this you'd be best off making a steel bracket for the block and bolting that to the car as to prevent reactions between the car's steel and the block of zinc. Here is some more info for you, it mentions anodes that have been designed to be used as sacrificial anodes which would be worth looking into! https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/sacrificial-anodes-galvanic-corrosion-protection-thomas-niemeyer Hopefully this has helped! Andrew CBR Jeff, davewatson and theremm 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davewatson Posted September 4, 2017 Author Share Posted September 4, 2017 Wow - thanks for the comprehensive reply! What a pity - I knew a miracle would be too good to be true! Has anyone actually used passive cathodic protection on a zed before? Its something I'll definitely have to do some more research on. Thanks again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew_L26 Posted September 4, 2017 Share Posted September 4, 2017 Wow - thanks for the comprehensive reply! What a pity - I knew a miracle would be too good to be true! Has anyone actually used passive cathodic protection on a zed before? Its something I'll definitely have to do some more research on. Thanks again! I haven't but I was actually going to do a bit of an experiment awhile ago but forgot about. My plan was to get two small sheets of paint free, oil free steel, connect one piece to a block of zinc and leave another with no zinc and leave them out in the weather for a few weeks. That would give a fairly good indication of the real world protection. I'll defiantly be trying it out on my z once it's complete! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davewatson Posted September 4, 2017 Author Share Posted September 4, 2017 I haven't but I was actually going to do a bit of an experiment awhile ago but forgot about. My plan was to get two small sheets of paint free, oil free steel, connect one piece to a block of zinc and leave another with no zinc and leave them out in the weather for a few weeks. That would give a fairly good indication of the real world protection. I'll defiantly be trying it out on my z once it's complete! Can't wait to hear the results! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndBir Posted September 12, 2017 Share Posted September 12, 2017 Apparently the protection is only very local to the zinc : http://www.abc.net.au/science/k2/homework/s95524.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davewatson Posted September 12, 2017 Author Share Posted September 12, 2017 Apparently the protection is only very local to the zinc : http://www.abc.net.au/science/k2/homework/s95524.htm Interesting read - pity; I'd really like an easy solution! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew_L26 Posted September 12, 2017 Share Posted September 12, 2017 From what I've researched it does work on a larger scale just not very well haha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
44014 Posted September 13, 2017 Share Posted September 13, 2017 (edited) I was very much a non believer until i had first hand experience. I use to work the council maintaining there vehicles. We use to replace the quads used for spraying swamps and foresty every 12 months due to corrosion from constantly being in mud and having corrosive fluids spilt on them when they were filling the tank on the back of them. We installed an electronic rust prevention unit on it and 24 months later they were just worn out, Not rusted in half like all the previous ones. Wouldn't of believed it unless i had seen it. Edited September 13, 2017 by 44014 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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