Here is a question for the guy's about the ground and metal (house)

[henry1]

Here is a question for the guy's about the earth and metal ..Someone i was talking about the ground there in the big island and the metal .and the question is why is the ground so corrosive on metal that been ground

[KAILANI]

salt??

[hotzcatz]

We are surrounded by salt water and have trade winds blowing from the ocean to the land. The earth is pretty acid around here, I dunno if that would encourage rust or not. Generally folks blame rust on the rain and salty air & seawater.

Basically, it's the difference between a lake boat and an ocean going vessel. One has iron or galvanized iron fittings, the other has brass and bronze just because of the difference in the corrosive conditions each one is in.

[henry1]

I saw some pictures of a iron rod that was in the ground and it was rusted like it been there for a 100 years but it had only been put in the ground about four years earlyer and i was wondering about the metal treatments like Line-X-the stuff they use on truck bed liner's and would that hold up to conditions of the ground acid that Hawaii's is know for ..

[OpenD]

The sulfur fumes from the volcano are absorbed by rainwater, turning into an acid. So the rain is acid... not strong acid, but relentless.

[HankDfrmSD]

If you are not on the Big Island, where the volcano is active, the degree of rust depends on how close you are to the ocean.

The "standard story", which is true, is that if you drive a nail into the wall of a house on the beach on the windward side of any island, it will be completely gone in less than a year.

I'm about 3/4 of a mile from the beach. Not much of a problem.

[henry1]

HankFromSD they showed me those picture's also and that why i posted the question about the metal's and the ground

[hotzcatz]

It also depends on the nail. Folks never use plain steel nails to build anything they want to last. Galvanized nails are the minimum acceptable nail, stainless ones are better but much more expensive. Stainless will stain, too, it just stains less. Grade 306 or above is best if it is an item you want to last very long.

It becomes a routine you don't even think about after awhile. Anything metal must be coated if it is intended to survive. I keep a quart of old engine oil to coat my garden tools once a year or when ever they need it. If we get a new barbeque or any outdoor metal thing such as that, the first thing we do is repaint the metal parts with Kilz or derusto paint. That is, if we want it to last very long. When getting metal items, choose aluminum (which will still corrode somewhat anyway) over steel, brass and bronze are good, copper is good although that will quickly turn green. When you see rust starting, hit it with Ospho, then a spot of primer. If you want it pretty, then paint to match existing, if you don't really care that the colors don't match then you end up with things like polka dotted back hoes.