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Thread: ZINC pins??

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    Senior Member Dllandry's Avatar
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    Default ZINC pins??

    Excuse me if I ask a dumbass question. Is there any reason you shouldnt use a zinc washer or zink coted pins to deter rust from forming on a SR. Much in the way a ship uses zinc as a sacrificial anode.

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    Know thyself holli4pirating's Avatar
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    My chemistry is a little fuzzy, but I believe zinc works on ships because the metal is submerged and that plays a key role in the process. If the blade of a razor is poorly treated, it's going to rust no matter what the scales, pins, or washers are made of.

    I also believe there was an experiment done with a submerged razor and zinc did not work there either.

    The wikipedia entry looks pretty good to me. Explains why it wouldn't work on a razor under "normal" circumstances http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacrificial_anode

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    Senior Member blabbermouth
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    Quote Originally Posted by holli4pirating View Post
    ... I believe zinc works on ships because the metal is submerged and that plays a key role in the process...
    That is totally correct - in the presence of air the zinc (a 'sacrificial anode') will not work. The zinc has to form two bonds with the iron - one is by direct connection - which you have via the pinning (providing it is not sleeved with something like nylon) and the second, less obvious one is an ion connection (not a mis-spelling of 'iron' - it is an atom or group of atoms), which needs moisture in order that the more reactive zinc will lose ions before the less reactive iron will. In any case, the magic stops working when the zinc is used up - which would be quite soon considering the relative dimensions of blade and pinning.

    Regards,
    Neil

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    The Hurdy Gurdy Man thebigspendur's Avatar
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    Yep. For those who live in the S.W and cool their homes in the summer with a swamp (evaporative) cooler we put a chunk of zinc in the water pan and attach it to part of the metal housing and the hard water eats up the zinc instead of the chassis.
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    Senior Member paco's Avatar
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    We used zinc anodes on our steel gas mains in New Orleans, I retired from the cathodic protection dept. in the company.
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