Piston-cylinder unit

A piston-cylinder unit comprising:

• a cylindrical pressure tube (1) having a first end side (5) defining an end side opening (13), the cylindrical pressure tube (1) having a surface protection on at least a portion of its outer surface;
• a piston (7), axially displaceable in the pressure tube (1), the piston (7) having a piston rod (8), the piston rod (8) being guided out of the pressure tube (1) at the first end side (5) through the end side opening (13);
• a piston rod guide and a piston rod seal, arranged inside the pressure tube (1), which cooperate together to sealingly guide the piston rod at the end side opening (13);
• and
• a cup-like protective cap (15) surrounding an end region (6) of the cylindrical pressure tube (1) from the first end side (5), the protective cap (15) having a base (18) at its end, the base (18) having a coaxial through-orifice (19) having an inner wall through which the piston rod (8) extends in a displaceable manner,
• wherein:
• the inner wall of the through-orifice (19) tightly surrounds the piston rod (8), and
• the outer surface of the cylindrical pressure tube (1) at the end region (6) is excluded from the surface protection, the outer surface of the cylindrical pressure tube (1) at end region (6) being coated with a corrosion inhibitor (16).