Due to wear and tear over time, your steel lug nuts are likely rusting. Many elements and materials go through chemical reactions with other elements. When the lug nuts come into contact with water and oxygen, there is a chemical reaction and these nuts begin to revert to their original form – iron oxide. In most modern steel applications this problem is easily overcome by coating.
However, some cheap chrome lug nuts, without a warranty, are not coated by an expensive chrome plating process. This low-quality coating is easy to wear off, hence losing the protection of the lug nuts. Another reason for rusty lug nuts is the use of the impact wrench. One little slip and the wrench will damage the coating layers on the nut and cause it to rust in short order. The more the coating layer gets cracked, the more rust develops.
How to Prevent the Lug Nuts from Rusting?
A good rustproof coating is effective to protect lug nuts from corrosion-related failure. Manufacturing companies often treat their nuts during production. The most common coating ways are Dacromet, Electroplating, Anodizing, and Chrome Plating. How the lug nuts are coated is a critical factor in safety. By far, the Dacromet-coating lug nuts are considered to be one of the best corrosion-resistance nuts. This type of coating gives salt spray resistances exceeding 500 hours, which makes it ideal for fasteners in the automobile industry. Most importantly, Dacromet coating does not induce Hydrogen Embrittlement, which means that high tensile components like wheel bolts and lug nuts can be safely coated.
In addition, the aluminum lug nut forms a layer of oxide which renders it non-reactive with elements that are corrosive to the underlying metal. A proper anodizing greatly enhances the anti-rust ability. BONOSS aluminum lug nuts apply an excellent hard anodizing process. This process provides the surface with better abrasion resistance, flame resistance, and smoother and harder finish protection than regular anodizing plating. This means anodizing aluminum lug nuts are not easy to corrode or oxidate which makes them safely work for long-term use.
Does Brand Matter When Buying Lug Nuts?
If you are looking to purchase new lug nuts for your vehicle, you might come across several brand names in mind. Certainly, reputable manufacturers make nice lug nuts. Some brands are not as well-known, but they also sell lug nuts of good quality. All in all, always stick to genuine brand products, you don’t have to worry about quality issues.
No matter how careful you might be to drive carefully and clean your rims often, though, there is the chance that your lug nuts could become scratched, hence rust occurs. Brand name lug nuts, in many cases, will resist rust and corrosion better. Well-made lug nuts have a better protective coating on them, they are not easily corroded or scratched. In general, they will serve longer than those cheap replicas. If you’re hoping that your lug nuts work well for a long time, a reputable brand-new set is absolutely worth it.
