Finding a rust engineer to tell how long rust has been there???

[Daisy33]

Does any one know of a rust engineer/specialist that can tell me how long rust has been in a flooded car???

[instaquestion]

Sorry to break it to you.. No such thing as a "rust engineer" or "rust specialist".. BUT, working in the engineering field and knowing a little bit about oxidization, rust will form based on the environment in which metal sits.

For metal to "rust" it must oxidize, to get to that stage, iron ore (metal) reacts with oxygen and it forms ferrous oxide which peels off the surface of the metal and in a matter of a week or longer (depending on your environment of course) it creates the much despised rust.

You can't really tell the specific amount of time... but can gauge it based off other samples of rusting in the area with known dates. Almost impossible since it is not a controlled environment, but use your best judgement. If your floor board is falling out, probably a few years! If a little rust on your door hinge, maybe a few months.