Rust Corrosion Project Science Project

Project Description:

Rust Corrosion Project Science Project

Hello, my name is Samantha. I did a science project for my school on corrosion rates of iron. The three preventative products that I used were Rust Bullet, Rustoleum, and Fluid Film. In my project I looked at the evaporation rate, solubility in water, specific gravity, and water vapor density of each rust preventative. I made a hypothesis of my experiment that stated: If a rust preventative has the slowest evaporation rate, is non-soluble in water, has the highest specific gravity, and its vapor density is heavier than air, then the best rust preventative is Rust Bullet. I made this hypothesis by analyzing this specific information below and determining which one had the slowest evaporation rate, its non-solubility in water, its highest specific gravity, and its vapor density, that of which is heavier than air.

Rust Bullet:
Evaporation Rate: Slower than Ether
Solubility in Water: Non Soluble
Specific Gravity: 1.104
Water Vapor Density: Heavier than air

Fluid Film:
Evaporation Rate: Not yet Identified
Solubility in Water: Non Soluble
Specific Gravity: 0.880
Water Vapor Density: Not yet identified

Rustoleum:
Evaporation Rate: Slower than Ether
Solubility in Water: slight
Specific Gravity: 1.238
Water Vapor Density: Heavier than air

Taking this information, I used it in a project to test my hypothesis. What I did was I took four pieces of iron that were the same kind and the same size. After I got the iron, I put Rust Bullet preventative on one, Rustoleum on another, Fluid Film on the third, and none on the last to see how long it took to rust compared to the preventative coated ones. After I put on the preventatives, I made a solution of half vinegar, half hydrogen peroxide, and about a teaspoon of salt. This solution made the iron rust a lot faster than it normally would with water because it contained more dissolved oxygen which made the iron rust. If you didn’t already know, rusting is from a combination of iron, water, and oxygen, so the more oxygen, the faster the iron will rust. Once I made this solution, I put the pieces of iron in a room of controlled temperature and no light, and everyday, twice a day, I would spray the pieces of iron and analyze if they were rusting or not. After twelve days I finished my project because all of my information that I needed was found. The results are as shown:

• The non-preventative piece of rust rusted as soon as I sprayed the solution on it.
• The Fluid Film preventative rusted in five days.
• The Rustoleum preventative rusted in twelve days.
• The Rust Bullet preventative never rusted.

After I had my conclusion, and knew that Rust Bullet never rusted, I could now say that my hypothesis was supported because Rust Bullet lasted the longest without rusting. In my project I realized how much better one product can work than another, and obviously in this case Rust Bullet worked a lot better than the other brands that were “close competitors.” This is why I suggest that you buy Rust Bullet products over other preventatives.

Samantha Wolf
03/17/2013