Why Are Magnets Rusting Cybertrucks?

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A recent article at Torque News tells the story of magnets, a Cybertruck, and rust. In theory, the trucks are covered in stainless steel, which isn’t supposed to rust. But, in the real world, there are some circumstances in which a stainless surface can become tarnished and even rust. Based on some social media and forum posts, one of these situations appears to be exposure to magnets.

One forum poster, CybertruckOwnersClub.com, used the side of his Cybertruck for advertising, but didn’t spring for a custom wrap job. To save some cash, he stuck magnetic signs on the side of the doors. When he took them back off, unfortunately, bad things had happened to the finish. The deep pitting that wouldn’t go away with buffing and polishing is unusually bad compared to what other people who made the same mistake got — some discoloration where the magnets had been.

It’s worth noting that not everyone who puts a magnet on their Cybertruck experiences corrosion or rust. When there’s a vinyl backing between the magnet and the truck, corrosion doesn’t occur.

Why Does This Happen?

What’s likely happening here is that door magnets don’t keep all debris and moisture out. Moisture alone shouldn’t mess up stainless steel, but moisture from a roadway likely contains all sorts of contaminants, some metal. When different types of metal are brought into contact with each other, corrosion can occur, and if these bits of metal are trapped against a Cybertruck’s door with moisture and with that magnetic field, everything gets accelerated and pitting can occur in just weeks.

The obvious way to avoid this is to not put magnets on the sides of Cybertrucks. If there’s nothing to hold odd contaminants against the metal, it won’t corrode like that.

But, if you do need a magnet, it’s wise to take it off and clean both it and the metal on the side of the truck every day or two. If there’s no time for the contaminants to sit there and corrode, then corrosion is a lot less likely to occur. More importantly, extreme things like pitting simply can’t happen if there’s no time given between cleanings.

Really, though, magnets are probably not a good choice for most people seeking to advertise if you’re going to leave the magnets on for weeks or months at a time. You’re better off in that situation to just go with some vinyl decals, which would (if properly applied) keep contaminants out and away from the surface of the truck. Plus, they simply look a lot more professional.

Full wraps that cover the whole outside of the vehicle look a lot cooler than smaller door-only wraps or partial wrap jobs that add striping and logos along the sides without covering everything. However, smaller door-only or striping vinyl applications are a LOT cheaper, and in many cases don’t cost much more than a magnet on the door without the unprofessional and uncommitted look.

Either way, be sure to do something to avoid deep pitting, as that would be a lot harder to deal with than normal stainless steel cleaning.

Featured image: a screenshot from CyberTruckOwnersClub.com.