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hot dip galvanizing

Been reading up on this recently as a means of rustproofing some of my projects.

Seems to be as simple as an acid pickle, dip in washing soda to kill the acid, then straight into a pot of molten zinc (which is "pot metal", and can be melted in a bread tin/cast iron pot straight on the forge)

I actually use a charcoal fired "furnace" (in quotes because it's a bucket lined with a ceramic chimney pot, backfilled with sand, and a tube through the side for a blower, not a professional furnace) which will melt a 4in steel pipe crucible of zinc in about 10 minutes once it's hot.

I've not actually tried the galvanising (don't have acid at the moment), but I'm going to give it a go sometime this week.

Has anyone else tried this?

Reply to
bigegg
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A guy I know has this done often on gates and railings. I think you have the basics right, but there's a fair amount of art involved in doing it right so the zinc stays there. There's a lot of variation in surface finish, too. Then there's the issue of getting paint to stick to the zinc. Auto mfr's have only recently figured that one out. How about using "cold galv"? It is a paint that is supposed to work in "sacrificial mode", like the zinc galvanizing process. It comes in both spray cans and for brush-on application. I think your friendly welding supplier has it.

Pete Stanaitis

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bigegg wrote:

Reply to
spaco

I used cold-galv and indeed its performance is very impressive.

i
Reply to
Ignoramus14280

I use cold and it works - I bought large cans at Lowe's or HD - oversize paint.

I also painted over it - to protect the zinc from acid rain from the air or from the trees. - Yes tannic acid will eat steel and car finishes.

Galvanized fences often rust on the tops of the bars. My weather station pole in concrete is cold and over coated with black. Even the part in the concrete.

Mart> >> A guy I know has this done often on gates and railings. I think you

Reply to
Martin H. Eastburn

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