Ensuring the safety of structures from corrosion damage is an important task. One of the promising directions for increasing corrosion resistance is modifying the surface layer of a structural element using the ion implantation method. The standard approach of uniaxial tension for assessing the mechanical properties of thin-walled elements with corrosion defects is also ineffective, and the gravimetric method does not take into account changes in the structure of the material and physical and mechanical characteristics caused by loosening the material to a certain depth. In this work, on the basis of the experimental-theoretical method, the integral mechanical characteristics of the samples after exposure to corrosion were determined. The effectiveness of protecting steel samples from corrosion by pre-treatment of the surface layer with ion implantation has been demonstrated. The results of an experimental study of corrosive wear of a thin-walled sheet steel plate, on the surface layer of which carbon ions were implanted, are presented.