Electronic Rust Prevention devices

I personally think they are crap, I had one on my old VT wagon and it rust spots in some areas. Ive been in the automotive trade for 23 years and untill I bought my VT had never seen one. Dont waste your money mate.

Thanks for the feedback guys - I had my doubts too but the motor dealer assured me of a life time guarantee all for only $795.....endrusting or equal probably the way to go.

I was sceptical at first until a mate fitted it to his cruiser.

He drowned the toyota in a saltwater creek. The alternator failed and fuse box rusted out within two months. He then fitted a Couplertec system and the car is still going now. That was about 5 or 6 years back, the car should have been a pile of rust by now. It was enough to change my mind.

Don't know what any of the other brands are like but I think they all work on the same principle.

This is the real solution.

My Toyota Soarer is from 1992. I treat it pretty badly, unrinsed boards on roof etc. Washed once-a-year. No rust.

Interesting, I have a 1989 L300 4WD (for 12 years) that I wash every week and polish twice a year and have no rust. I have seen other beach layabouts with L300's that rust in no time flat. I work on the theory that the dust dirt around the windows etc absorbs the moisture and cause rust. But then I guess that's one of the downfalls of living in the tropics and one advantage of a dry climate like WA.
We wont mention the wind

If you want the real answer to the problem is fisholine when she is new, its a bit old school but works very well & before you say anything it dosent smell anymore. I know a few old fellas that still use it on a landcruiser & the other is an EH both in very good nick for old cars.

What you need is a Delorian. Apart from the obvious advantages of being able to travel through time to stop yourself from nailing your mum, they are made from 304 grade stainless steel!

I mean the galvanised body. Soarers have one.

I try and work on the rain doing the washing for me works well on dark cars not so well on white but save water dont wash your car!!

I don't know about that, but they seem to use 30,000 litres of paint on it:

http://www.rta.nsw.gov.au/constructionmaintenance/majorconstructionprojectssydney/sydneyharbourbridge/shb_repainting.html

Snake oil? Snake oil would probably work better!

Did a bit of googling, found out it's also called cathodic protection, because like a cathode ray tube it involves electrons being emitted from the surface. If the surface is chock full of electons the chemical reaction causing rust is blocked. But electrons are are lost from the surface as they block the reaction and more have to be continuously pumped into the structure.

A battery is an electron pump, it is not a reservoir of electrons. So to pump electrons it needs a supply, which is why they need an array of spikes into the surrounding earth when using the system to protect a bridge.

It's a bit like a swimming pool and a water pump. If you want to keep that pool full for some reason you need to supply the pump from an external reservoir. Pumping it from one end of the pool to the other won't work, evaporation will eventually empty it.

Same with a battery in your car - on rubber tyres - pumping electrons from one end to the other doesn't ensure that the metal surfaces are saturated with electrons. Maybe a separate battery, the positive terminal connected to a ground spike might help?