Anyone tried this option for rust proofing...............any opinions

i think that basically works the same way older boats did, something like putting a big piece of metal that oxidized faster that the boats metal on the bottom of the boat and electrically charge it and any rust would attack it before the boat...we did some sort of experiment in an engineering lab once, but i know a catalyst is needed (ie the salt water with the boats) so i'm not sure how this would work?

My guess would be road salt.

But I don't get how it works...
What I do know is that the "after" picture is just a photoshop of the "before" picture - and not a very good one.
Zach

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cathodic_protection

Impressed Current Cathodic Protection (ICCP). Same thing? Maybe that's what it is trying to be...

yeah, on boats they're called zincs. Used to be able to dive under the boats and change them out while they were in the water. I think people were dropping them or something. They changed so you can't do that... at least up in puget sound it was like that.

They have the same principle for radiators. They have caps with a piece of metal that hangs down in there. That metal takes the rusting abuse as opposed to your radiator cores rusting out.

and yeah... nice photochopping on that pic. NOT. weeeeeeeeeeeee

Supposedly you hook it up to the battery.......same drain on the battery as a digital clock

From what I gan gather the System uses a process which delivers a protective negative electrostatic surface charge into crevices, and into hidden areas where rust starts.

Well, from the looks of their advertising if I add the CounterAct to my rusty car perfect paint will suddenly appear in place of the rust??

Let's all buy one for our 914s and sue for false advertising.

I asked the same question a few days ago. I think I'll probably install one eventually since it may work and probably won't do any harm (other than lighten my wallet a bit).

Absolutely 100% useless. Unless your 914 is submerged in water, then perhaps it would be of some small utility...

--DD

Funny, I probably saw that product advertized in the same Canadian Tire flyer you did and probably thought the same thing..."I wonder if that thing will save my teener?" Then I remembered some sage advice - 'If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.'

Corvette owners have had great success with this product.

Yup, it's really good at keeping fiberglass from rusting....

--DD

Probably a cheaper way to do it, is to use the VW method. They would bolt zinc washers between the body panels, so the zinc would corrode before the steel. Same thing with water heaters, the difference between a 5 year heater and a 10 year is the length of the zinc anode.

I'm not a chemist so I don't really know if it works or not but what about the testimonials from various users?

We have them on the trucks at work. Suppost to stop galvanic reaction between disimular metals...............

If your car has rust, it wil keep rusting, if not, it might help............

Probably as useful as the famous turbo induction system that just bolts on in a few minutes......can't wait to see the informational on it.

Years ago I was into collecting old hand tools (Stanley planes, etc.) and there was a process people used where you would dunk a rusty tool into a solution of water and "washing soda" (sodium carbonate ?) Then, you hook a cable to the tool and to an electrode of some sort and run current though the soution. Basically, it would cause the reverse reaction of rusting : Iron Oxide + Energy -> Iron + Oxygen. Folks referred to it as "electro-zapping." Worked great on the examples I saw; from a tool coolectors point of view, it worked too good - tools looked new.

In principle, you could do the exact same thing with a car. Dunk it in a solution of washing soda, hook up the electrodes, and walla. Who knows, maybe it would even be practical at a dip-n-strip place. But it only works in water. Maybe if the car was covered in salt water, it could "sort of" work.

If this is the principle behind the product listed above (who knows ?), then it is different from the sacrificial anode approach (which is the same as galvanizing). For that , you just put another metal in contact with the iron (usually zinc) that corrodes more easily than iron. Corrosion goes forward, but with a different metal. In the electro-zapping method, corrosion goes backwards, but requires energy input.

Just posted this over at the STF:

Galvanic corrosion occurs on ships because water is a great conductor, a slight potential difference and ions will travel from the higher potential to the lower ultimately eating a hole in the ship. Anodes work well because they are chosen to be more electrically reactive than anything else that is submergered, therefore they disappear first (sacrificial). Beyond that, as they disappear, the ions that are pulled off of them are deposited wherever the "leak" is, and ultimately help in insulating it (ship anodes disappear at a much faster rate the first few months when installed than the last few).

On the other hand, air is not a great conductor. If you lived in a humid salty environment, then maybe an anode would help, but I doubt it. I don't think vehicles suffer from galvanic corrosion anyway, rust is just rust. Additionally, most ship anodes are made from zinc, it is one of the more elecrtically reactive metals out there. Guess what is one of the main ingredients in galvanization? Yup, zinc. So don't go getting your car galvanized and park it underwater!

Anodes are passive cathodic protection, the counteract rust link is an active solution as previously pointed out. Again, active systems are implemented underwater with success, but again, that is because water is a great conductor. Since vehicles don't suffer from galvanic corrosion (I'm pretty sure), an active system would be a waste of money.

-Chris

This stuff is fairly widely used in the aircraft industry...CRC 3-36 I am going to spray some into my longs to see if it helps. It is aerosol, so it should get everywhere...It is also used for preserving engines.