text: A common example of galvanic corrosion occurs in galvanized iron, a sheet of iron or steel covered with a zinc coating. Even when the protective zinc coating is broken, the underlying steel is not attacked. Instead, the zinc is corroded because it is less "noble".  Only after it has been consumed can rusting of the base metal occur. By contrast, with a conventional tin can, the opposite of a protective effect occurs: because the tin is more noble than the underlying steel, when the tin coating is broken, the steel beneath is immediately attacked preferentially.