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Zinc plating for plane's aluminum floats

I'm looking at buying a floatplane for flying in and around the west coast. I was told zinc plating on the aluminum floats is a good way to slow the corrosion process (it's a steel tube & fabric aircraft. What would I be looking at in terms of cost of getting that done, and/or the steel frame? Are there better methods for reducing saltwater corrosion? I plan to store the A/C out of water and hose with fresh water after every flight. Thanks.

Chad Gottfried
- Victoria, BC, Canada
2003

I am not familiar with this application; hopefully someone else is. Pending that, though, while zinc will galvanically protect steel, I don't see how zinc coating would reliably protect aluminum since aluminum is possibly a more active metal than zinc. (According to the 1N EMF series, aluminum is more active; according to the seawater series, zinc is more active than most aluminum alloys, but it's very close).

Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
(Ted can offer longterm or instant help)
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
2003

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