About Galvanizing

People ask us many questions about galvanizing so here is a quick FAQ. If you want to learn more you can always do a search on your favorite search engine.
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Q. What is hot-dipped galvanizing?

A. Hot-dipped galvanizing is a two part process. First the steel is cleaned by being dipped into several baths of different chemicals to prep the surface. Then it is placed in a bath of molten zinc, removed and allowed to dry.

 

Q. Yeah so what does that do for the steel?

A. The zinc reacts with the steel to form several layers, which are different mixtures of steel and zinc. These layers “sacrifice” themselves to the elements but at a rate that is far slower than the steel itself. These layers bond to the steel with an adhesion strength greater than 3500 pounds per square inch! In fact some of these layers are almost twice as hard as the steel itself. This makes the galvanizing extremely tough and less likely to be damaged unlike other coatings.

 

Q. Is it not true that in a salt spray test galvanizing doesn't hold up as well as other coatings?

A. Yes this is true. However, a salt spray test is used to "accelerate nature" in order to make 25 days seem more like 25 years. A salt spray test is conducted by subjecting an item to a continuous salt spray until rust occurs. This continuous spray in effect “rubs off” the protective zinc coating. In actuality galvanizing performs extremely well when allowed to go through wet and dry cycles which much more closely represents nature. In fact galvanizing also performs well when completely immersed in water. So unless your applications are on a sea wall or half immersed in water, salt spray test results do not apply.

 

Q. So how long will it last?

A. This is a tough question to answer. It depends on your application and if the finish is properly maintained. Well maintained galvanized coatings can protect steel in most cases more than 60 years and in some cases more than 100 years.

 

Three major “but's”

 

  1. But I had other galvanized products and they rusted right away.

    There are 3 different types of spray on (cold), electro, and hot dipped galvanized finishes. Spray on galvanizing is noting more than a zinc rich paint, electro galvanized in other words, zinc plating although it is better than cold it is still no comparison to a hot-dipped galvanized finish. More than likely your product was either cold or electro galvanized. All of our products with in it's product description are hot-dipped galvanized.

  2. But I have had other hot-dipped galvanized products and they rusted at all the joints and/or connections.

    This is where we take a different order to ensure this problem doesn't occur. What we mean is that some other fabricators do use hot-dipped galvanized parts but they are galvanized prior to assembly. So that when these pieces are welded or cut the protection of the galvanized coating is lost and ultimately rusts very quickly. All of our galvanized products are assembled then galvanized, a much more costly procedure than just galvanizing the individual parts. This ensures complete protection from rust.

  3. But galvanizing is not available in any colors and is very hard to paint.

    This is true to an extent. It is very hard to paint galvanizing for the first time it requires a special primer or acid bath to prepare it, but, we do that for you. In actuality it is very easy to maintain or repaint a previously painted galvanized surface.