i cannot find this bit

[cadetchris]

a while ago, i saw a little device that it attached to the inside of the car, with all the panels connected via a wire to a central control box. this box then passes a small current through all of the panels and chassis, thus stopping rust in its tracks and the whole car will last for years. the same principal is used on ships and is honestly a fantastic idea

i saw this and have saved up enough money to buy one, but i now cannot find it (typical really). has anyone seen this and/or can you remember where it was located?

[RobMoore]

this?
http://www.ruststopshop.com/shop.cfm

[alex_holden]

I'm rather dubious. Ships, unlike most cars, float in a bath of electrolyte.

[bmcecosse]

I like Capt Tolley's Creeping Crack Cure - ideal for your cracked backplate Billobban !

[cadetchris]

thats the badger!, best idea i have seen in years

[bmcecosse]

Wot? The Creeping Crack Cure ??? The electronic gismo is a complete waste of money.............

[cadetchris]

not the creeeping crack thingy, the whole idea of applying the method of ships hull preservation to motor cars, by simply passing a very small current through it.

[chickenjohn]

This is a complete waste of money. Much like the inline devices supposed to convert your car to unleaded forever. Broquet catalysts etc. It is pure pseudo science and if it did do anything the electrical current might actually speed up corrosion!

[chickenjohn]

" electronic rust protection system is designed to operate in the automotive environment. Its sophisticated electronics generate a protective electron field within the metal fabric of the vehicle. This protective field disrupts the normal rusting process by generating readily available free electrons, which in the rusting process are taken, leaving the steel intact.

"
Nonsense Pseudo science! The outer electrons in any metal atom are free anyway! That is why all metals can conduct electricity.


Spend the £180 this costs on some waxoyl/dinitrol type stuff! Forget the electrons, from a chemistry point of view, rusting needs metal, air and water. A good coat of paint and wax protection will keep the air and water from your steel and stop the rusting process.

[mike.perry]

Changing the car from + to - earth will have more effect on rust prevention and terminal corrosion.

[chickenjohn]

Changing the car from + to - earth will have more effect on rust prevention and terminal corrosion.

If there was an effect from the polarity, it would only occur when electricity is flowing through the cars electrical system- the electrical system is being used- i.e. whilst actually driving the car! Personally, I don't see + or -ve earth making the slightest difference to corrosion. Possibly another urban myth!
My Traveller, for example had much much less rust on it than either my 4-door or convertible before restoration and the Traveller has been +ve earth all its life (and still is) and the other two cars were both -ve earth for a long time.

One can conclude that all the other factors play a much larger role in rusting.

[dp]

I don't know if the current thing works but current's flowing through the chassis whenever something electrical is running. If it works then an led permanently wired in might have the same effect and look like a car alarm too.

Or does the device use a sacrifical anode? Probably quite cheap to sort a lump of zinc if that works

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

[alex_holden]

Or does the device use a sacrifical anode? Probably quite cheap to sort a lump of zinc if that works

I can't see that working either unless you submerge the car in saltwater.

[chickenjohn]

Just paint the underside of the car with zinc primer, stone chip, then chassis black and use underbody and cavity wax. Will protect the car far better than any snake oil electronics!

[simmitc]

Since I connected one terminal of my battery to the chassis of the car, I haven't had any barnacles or weed growth underneath the car, so it must be a miraculous scientific discovery.