Corrosion 101
Why steel fails in waterparks and coastal environments — and how cathodic protection and coatings stop it.
Understanding the corrosion cell
Steel doesn’t rust randomly. It rusts because four things are present at once — and pool decks, splash pads, and coastal facilities give it all four in abundance.
Why waterparks corrode faster
A corrosion cell needs an anode (where metal is lost), a cathode (where it’s protected), an electrolyte to carry ions between them, and a metallic path to carry electrons back. Chlorinated water is an efficient electrolyte, and constant wet-dry cycling in the sun breaks down coatings that would otherwise keep that electrolyte off the steel — so the cell runs harder, longer, every season.
Cathodic protection does the losing for you
Zinc-rich primers and field-applied galvanized coatings work by being more anodic than the steel underneath. The zinc becomes the sacrificial anode and corrodes first, so the structural steel stays cathodic — protected — for as long as the zinc lasts.
Surface coatings close the circuit off entirely
Epoxies and urethanes applied over that zinc layer act as a barrier, keeping the electrolyte from reaching bare metal in the first place. Prep, cathodic protection, and topcoat aren’t three separate jobs — they’re one system, which is why we handle the full scope instead of just one step of it.
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