@BowsacNoodle @Jonaschuzzlewit @thatguyoverthere I wonder the same, like if the presence of the mineral ions in the solution prevents them being pulled out of the steel into the solution, or maybe its just due to general gentleness of the electrolyte solution. I really have no idea.

Most of the common elements added to steel are present in ionic form in molasses. I'm curious whether something like gatorade with a small amount of acid added performs any differently. If it does I would investigate the zinc(those nails look galvanized) and manganese salts first. It would be an interesting panel of experiments and fairly straight forward to look for their effect if indeed there is one.