SALT SPRAY TEST DODGE'S WAR AGAINST RUST

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 1060, 26 August 1930, Page 6

SALT SPRAY TEST

DODGE'S WAR AGAINST RUST

Much of the progress that Dodge Brothers’ metallurgists have made in their unceasing war against rust has resulted from w'hat is known as the salt spray test. In a specially constructed booth, parts taken at random from factory production are submitted to the corrosive action of a mist of salt that represents in concentrated form what a car endures when used regularly at the seashore, where it is constantly ex posed to the salt-laden ocean breezes. The salt spray test is one of the most interesting of all automotive experiments, and is believed to be the most severe for plated or enamelled parts that could be devised.

A saturated solution of sodium chloride or common salt is pumped under pressure through small jets or orifices, which act as atomisers. The resulting spray is many times more penetrating than natural ocean mist because of the pressure built up in the booth.

Although double doors, the outer one of immense thickness, are used on the saltspray room, the penetrating solution finds its way through infin itesimal openings that otherwise would be imperceptible to the naked eye.

An unprotected piece of metal placed in this booth would be almost unrecognisable in the space of a few hours, according to the metallurgists in charge, yet parts for Dodge Brothers’ cars are required to meet these conditions for long periods of time without deterioration.