Hello,
Would a strong magnet capture any,(zinc?), anti wear agents in motor oil?
Gary

No. I cannot believe that the stongest drain plug magnet could strip any additives out of the oil.

Magnet drainplugs are a good plan accross the board. I don't think they do as much good in an engine which presumably has a decent oil filter as they do in a transmission or differential, but they are still worth it for peace of mind.

Yes, the zinc can bond to the ferrous metal and the ferrous metal can be attracted to and be captured by the magnetic field. However the zinc first has to bond to the base metal, normally a chemical reaction when the metal is rubbed clean of any surface coating. Then the metal has to somehow be broken away from a surface.n Or possibly the brokem away ferrous material is then attracting the zinc.....
So yes it's possible but unless you are experiencing some type of persistent wear regime the likleyhood of it happening (I think)is very small. If you are identifying Zinc loss through oil analysis and arn't getting any significent increasse in iron then the explination above can't be applied.
regards......