The Nobility of Common Metals
1. Aluminum
2. Zinc
3. Steel
4. Iron
5. Stainless Steel - Active
6. Tin
7. Lead
8. Copper
9. Stainless Steel - Passive
When dissimilar metals are in contact with one another in the presence of an electrolyte, galvanic action occurs, resulting in the deterioration of the metal with the lower galvanic number. The electrolyte may be rain water running from one surface to another, or moisture from the air containing enough acid to cause it to act as an electrolyte.
The company I work for made some large copper sailboats one time that had stainless rods welded to them representing the ropes running down each mass. After a while the galvanic reaction caused the stainless rods to start falling off, I had to replace the stainless rods with copper rods. The rods were attached to the copper with phos- copper brazing rods.