Magic steel

orezok · Mar 11, 2013

I needed to build some cages for my fruit trees and I remembered that there were still a couple of 20' pieces of #4 rebar left over from my house build 7 years ago. These have been laying on the ground unprotected in the open for the entire 7 years.

Must be some kind of Magic Steel, it doesn't rust.

stub · Mar 12, 2013

it may have something to do with your location....

adirondackmtnman · Mar 12, 2013

It could be galvanized, but it looks too dark to a galvanized coating. It's possible that it's a painted coating that looks a lot like the original steel. try looking at the cut ends, or cutting a little off the end and exposing it to moisture. If it still doesn't rust, maybe the recycled alloy they used to make it is corrosion resistant, hard to believe it would be some sort of stainless alloy though, as they weed out the more expensive metals when recycling...

cqaigy2 · Mar 12, 2013

stub said:
it may have something to do with your location....

Im thinking.

orezok · Mar 12, 2013

cqaigy2 said:
Im thinking.

It is kinda dry out here, but 7 years?

Rebar is mostly made from recycled steel, so maybe this batch contained a bunch of stainless or moly.

J_J · Mar 12, 2013

It is probably epoxy coated rebar. It is supposed to protect against corrosion in concrete.

You can see where the rust is coming through due to rough handling. .

Epoxy Coated Rebar - Corrosion Resistant Rebar | Harris Supply Solutions

http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/...9E2FVI20E3000000_nid=FM68L69R6Gbe4QCCD178ZXgl

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QWUpMWJtgvc

Just grind the coating off and watch it rust.

hosspuller · Mar 12, 2013

Doesn't look like epoxy coated ( thanks JJ for the link) but more likely sprayed with oil or such. Desert conditions are more likely the reason for so little rust. Bring it East and it'll rust for sure.

Rock knocker · Mar 12, 2013

J_J said:
It is probably epoxy coated rebar. It is supposed to protect against corrosion in concrete

Epoxy coated bar is very green

adirondackmtnman · Mar 12, 2013

hosspuller said:
Doesn't look like epoxy coated ( thanks JJ for the link) but more likely sprayed with oil or such. Desert conditions are more likely the reason for so little rust. Bring it East and it'll rust for sure.

Likely not oil...after all that's what the concrete guys use to get their forms to release...Wouldn't work well trying to get the concrete to bond to the rebar.