Salt is the most damaging force in a marine environment because it carries a neutral pH yet has a relentless desire for electrons, the glue that holds metal together, so it constantly pulls electrons out of every surface and that loss is the rust and oxidation you see. Fresh water only moves salt around; truly removing it takes a product that chemically changes it. In this How 2 Tuesday I sit down with Zach McAllister of Salt's Gone to break down why salt destroys gear and how to protect your biggest investments.
Listen now: press play in the player above and follow along.
Salt is uniquely corrosive because it has a neutral pH of 7, the same as water, so it does not fit the usual picture of corrosion like acid or bleach. Sodium and chlorine bond easily but the result is unstable and has a huge, never-satisfied desire for electrons. Electrons are the glue holding metal together, so salt sitting on a surface acts like a magnet, constantly pulling electrons out. That is the rust on a trailer fender or oxidation on a fitting, the metal's glue literally drawn away by the salt.
Because water often moves salt rather than removing it. Salt is attracted to the electrons in water, so when you spray a salty surface the salt follows the water, but as the water dries and those electrons disappear, the salt stays right where electrons remain, back on the surface. That is why you rinse something down, let it dry, and find all the salt still there. To truly get rid of salt you need a product that chemically changes it, not just water that relocates it.
Salt's Gone uses a pH-neutral chemical process called chelation, borrowed from medicine where chelation pulls heavy metals like lead out of the bloodstream. The product gives the sodium something it likes more than chlorine, and the chlorine something it likes more than sodium, so once it contacts the salt, that salt can never be salt again. It does this without altering the salt's pH through acids or caustics, so it removes the catalyst of corrosion rather than just driving the salt into places you do not want it.
After removing salt, Salt's Gone leaves behind electron-rich corrosion inhibitors. Because electrons can move both into and out of a surface, these inhibitors replenish electrons the metal has lost and leave extra free electrons sitting on top. When new salt lands on the boat in the lift, it attacks those sacrificial free electrons, the path of least resistance, instead of pulling electrons out of your boat's metal. So the protection keeps working between washes until you rinse and repeat the process.
For most people it is an everyday product. Since you are going to wash the boat every time you come in anyway, you wash it with the salt removal product so it includes a salt remover, corrosion inhibitors, and a biodegradable soap in one step. Doing it anytime is better than never, but nearly all of Zach McAllister's customers use it every single time the boat comes off the water. Removing the catalyst consistently is what keeps a saltwater boat looking and performing like one kept on a lake.
Different metals have different amounts of free electrons, and salt goes after whatever has the most. Carbon steel has more free electrons than stainless or aluminum, which is why stainless lasts longer. Stainless also comes in grades, so a 304 stainless outperforms cheap hardware-store stainless. Zinc sits at the other end and is used sacrificially on motors because it gives up electrons readily. Bolting stainless into steel creates dissimilar metals with different electron counts, which is exactly where salt attacks first and rust often starts.
If you are new to saltwater boating, the single biggest threat to your boat, rods, reels, and electronics is salt, with the sun a distant second. You can put 20 years of wear on a boat in six months if you do not understand it. My friend Zach McAllister knows more about how salt attacks metal than just about anyone I know, working with everyone from NASA and Boeing engineers down to fishermen. I wanted him to make it simple, and he did. Press play in the player above.
Zach reframed corrosion for me completely. Salt is not like acid or bleach, it sits at a neutral pH, but it has an endless hunger for electrons. Since electrons are the glue holding metal together, salt acts like a magnet pulling them out, and that missing glue is the rust on a trailer fender. Once you see it that way, every corrosion problem starts to make sense. Zach lays out the chemistry in plain terms in the player above.
This was the part that surprised me most. We all spray something salty with water, let it dry, and find the salt still there. Zach explained why: water moves salt rather than removing it, because the salt chases the electrons in the water and then settles back onto the surface as the water dries. A rinse alone leaves the catalyst of corrosion in place. He explains the fix in the player above.
The solution Zach described uses chelation, the same process medicine uses to pull lead out of blood, to chemically change the salt so it can never be salt again, all at a neutral pH. Then it leaves electron-rich inhibitors behind so the next salt that lands has sacrificial electrons to attack instead of your metal. I get why that matters for our biggest investments, and he breaks it down in the player above.
Here is the approach Zach and I walked through for keeping salt from destroying your boat and gear.
Hear Zach explain the full process in the player above.
Your boat may be the biggest investment you make in fishing, or in your life, and salt is the thing quietly working against it every day. Once you understand that salt is all about pulling electrons, protecting your gear becomes straightforward.
Remove the salt instead of just rinsing it, leave protection behind, and do it every time you come in. The better you care for your stuff, the longer it lasts and the less you spend. Press play in the player above.
salt corrosion · Zach McAllister · Salt's Gone · chelation · corrosion inhibitors · free electrons · stainless steel · carbon steel · aluminum · sacrificial zinc · dissimilar metals · marine maintenance · How 2 Tuesday
How 2 Tuesday is my weekly series where I break down one fishing skill at a time, from knots and casting to gear, tactics, and the habits that make you a better angler. Watch and listen to every How 2 Tuesday episode from Tom Rowland.
I'm Tom Rowland, a professional fishing guide based in the Florida Keys, host of the Tom Rowland Podcast, and the longtime host of the Saltwater Experience television show. On the podcast's How 2 Tuesday series I break down one practical skill or lesson at a time, from fishing technique and gear to the habits that make you a better angler, in short, focused episodes you can put to use right away.
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