Possible applications for Mg-alloys continue to increase across the automotive, aerospace and the bio-materials sectors. For such applications however, the corrosion susceptibility of magnesium limits its use. Typically, the efforts to improve corrosion resistance of magnesium alloys are hindered by either the limited solubility of most metals in magnesium, the apparent inability of alloying elements to impart appreciable corrosion resistance, and the requirement of maintaining a low-density material. In this work we explore the impact of atypical alloying additions on the thermodynamic and kinetic stability of Mg and its alloys; together with the impact of specific thermo-mechanical processes on the electrochemical response of Mg. We reveal that it is possible to customize the rate of corrosion of Mg over a very wide range, which is a significant step toward the development of more ‘stainless’ Mg alloys.