I have a question concerning zinc warping and crumbling - the "zinc pest". Perhaps someone here who actually knows the metallurgy of the matter can respond.
So far as I know it is caused by foreign matter in the metal or die when cast; I have heard lead mentioned more than once as the common culprit. I have also heard the opinion - surely wrong - that zinc "always does this eventually". There are some really old stable zinc castings all over the world in all sorts of places.
My question, though, is actually this: can the "weather" - the environment, the temperature, the humidity, "the basement" - affect this warping and crumbling process? Not actually cause it, but accelerate it or make it worse?
This seems unlikely to me, given the ultimate cause. Anyone here (truly) know?
