Letter 13762

DOES CHROMED ALUMINUM RUST  

I HAVE AN CHROMED ALUMINUM GRILLE IN ONE OF MY VEHICLES WHICH IS RUSTING,FLAKING & TURNING GREEN AFTER 9 MONTHS OF SERVICE.SHOULD THIS BE HAPPENING SO SOON IF AT ALL? THESE ARE AFTER MARKET PIECES MADE OF CHROMED 5052 GRADE ALUMINUM. YOUR EXPERT OPINIONS ARE APPRECIATED!

THANKS,

LARRY ANDRIST
- BARTLETT, IL, U.S.A.

These are not expert opinions, they are guesses based on a verbal description; big difference.

Aluminum doesn't rust, nor is iron introduced into the plating process, so your grill is not rusting. A typical plating sequence is zincate, copper plate, nickel plate, chromium plate. So you may be seeing copper and mistaking it for rust.

Amateurs are just as qualified as experts to have expectations as consumers. And my expectation would be that a grill should last years and years; maybe not indefinitely, but a long time.Unless you did something stupid like clean it with acid or oven cleaner, it was defective and you should get your money back.

 
Ted Mooney, P.E.
finishing.com Inc. - Brick, NJ

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