Re: Honda corrodes faster than other outboards??
The original Spirit and early Suzuki outboards had a problem with paint corrosion due to the paint formula being designed for cold saltwater rather than warm saltwater. It seems that Japanense domestic use is entirely cold water and nobody thought anything about it at the time. Today there is little difference if any from brand to brand. Now the bolt differences are real....intentionaly so. The Japanese believe in yearly changing of their ss bolts, so they use a high carbon content ss. They almost never break, but if you wait to long to change them they can rust away. U.S. manufactuers, when there were some, went with a low carbon content steel that would not rust, but tended to break off. They both have benefits and drawbacks depending on which one you are working on at the time. But in the end....saltwater gets you one way or the other.