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Galvanizing. GTA Sources, and tips and tricks

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Dan Dubeau

Ultra Member
Does anyone here have any experience in hot dip galvanizing, and potentially have any recommendations for or against any vendors in the GTA?

I've never built anything for the process, but seem to recall there are things like adding drain holes and other precautions to be mindful of. Anyone care to share their experiences? I think if I just "think like liquid" and try to picture all the spots it might get trapped coming out of the bath I should be ok.

I'm back on my sawmill build and got thinking about possibly galvanizing the entire saw head assembly instead of painting. I recently did some work for a friend on his 8 year old painted trailer (fenders, patches) the frame was still good but some of the rest was pretty gone in some spots, but then I got looking at my 20+ year old one that is galvanized and it looks like it might still be a couple years old (if you ignore the dents and dings). Considering my hatred of painting, maybe this might be the better option for a long lasting finish, as I'd like this thing to last for the rest of my life without having to repaint it every couple of years.
 

In the UK but I’m sure there are similar folks in your area. The galvanizers recommended the extra hole locations to insure most internal surfaces were treated.

The one thing I have with their process is that they didn’t drag the dross on the surface before dipping, only afterwards. Clearing the surface before & after is known as the “American Process” and yields a cleaner surface and prevents clumps of contaminants from sticking to (and later falling off) the surfaces.
 
I have plenty of experience getting things hot dipped (im on a job with 1000ft of galvanized handrail currently)

yes you will need drain holes, vent holes, and some way to hang it, call whoever you use, they can guide you on the size of hole they want

if you have knife sharp corners the zinc will chip off easily in those locations, best to chamfer/radious any sharp corners

if you have very heavy and relatively thin sections on the same piece (say 5/8 plate and .100 tube) the galvanizing will be overly built up on the heavy sections to get proper thickness on the thin sections, making it prone to chipping

any welds will build up more than the parent material, if you spliced something and ground it flush, you will see the weld clear as day

any tapped holes will have to be re-tapped, small holes may disappear completely and have to be re-drilled

the finish is not often uniform, most likely you will have shiny sections, blotchy sections, if they have to drip it twice you will have a line, there will be built up galvanizing where it dripped off.....what im saying is dont expect a showroom finish

thats all i can think off off the top of my head
 
Great info thank you very much. It'll pretty much be tubing, 1/8"-1/4". Mostly open construction, but I'll add vent and drains where needed. I'm not really concerned about finish quality all that much. I'm pretty familiar with what galvanized stuff looks like at the end, and it'll be more than fine here. There's only one critical sliding surface, and I can work with that. Do you sandblast prior to dipping?
 
Dan Dubeau said:
Great info thank you very much. It'll pretty much be tubing, 1/8"-1/4". Mostly open construction, but I'll add vent and drains where needed. I'm not really concerned about finish quality all that much. I'm pretty familiar with what galvanized stuff looks like at the end, and it'll be more than fine here. There's only one critical sliding surface, and I can work with that. Do you sandblast prior to dipping?
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no, they will acid dip it before hand, just send it to them raw
 
ChazzC said:

In the UK but I’m sure there are similar folks in your area. The galvanizers recommended the extra hole locations to insure most internal surfaces were treated.

The one thing I have with their process is that they didn’t drag the dross on the surface before dipping, only afterwards. Clearing the surface before & after is known as the “American Process” and yields a cleaner surface and prevents clumps of contaminants from sticking to (and later falling off) the surfaces.
Click to expand...
Thanks Chazz, I just gave that a watch. Very informative and answered a bunch of my questions. Also confirmed stuff that Ryan said like how the welds will be more visible etc. Thanks again.
 
Dan Dubeau said:
Does anyone here have any experience in hot dip galvanizing, and potentially have any recommendations for or against any vendors in the GTA?

I've never built anything for the process, but seem to recall there are things like adding drain holes and other precautions to be mindful of. Anyone care to share their experiences? I think if I just "think like liquid" and try to picture all the spots it might get trapped coming out of the bath I should be ok.

I'm back on my sawmill build and got thinking about possibly galvanizing the entire saw head assembly instead of painting. I recently did some work for a friend on his 8 year old painted trailer (fenders, patches) the frame was still good but some of the rest was pretty gone in some spots, but then I got looking at my 20+ year old one that is galvanized and it looks like it might still be a couple years old (if you ignore the dents and dings). Considering my hatred of painting, maybe this might be the better option for a long lasting finish, as I'd like this thing to last for the rest of my life without having to repaint it every couple of years.
Click to expand...
I'll ask at work on Tuesday. I don't think we've done any hot dip in my time, but maybe they did some before/have some connections. Certainly a good solution.
 
I've used galvanizing a bit, my truck headache rack, and the steps. If you don't drill the vent holes where this are inconspicuous, they will drill them at random and they may be very visible to you. They are concerned for their safety, not your ascetics. I also had a 150 gal propane tank done as I was converting it to a air receiver. I spec'ed that all the thread ports be chased after the dip and they gladly did that.
 
Very good prep advice above.
30 years ago my friend and I built two trailers together. It was really nice of him to offer and teach me the build process at his home shop. It took us all day to build both, then I drove home with my trailer hooked behind my car. I had a grin the whole way. Two day later he calls me and says I think I will get mine galvanized instead of painting " would you be interested" bummer I already had painted mine and declined.
He got his galvanized somewhere near Cornwall Ontario and it still looks new to this day. I have stripped and painted mine three time and it's due again very soon.
It would be a nice if you could assemble and use the sawmill a couple times, just in case you need to make an adjustment or add a feature you missed before galvanizing it.
 
fixerup said:
Very good prep advice above.
30 years ago my friend and I built two trailers together. It was really nice of him to offer and teach me the build process at his home shop. It took us all day to build both, then I drove home with my trailer hooked behind my car. I had a grin the whole way. Two day later he calls me and says I think I will get mine galvanized instead of painting " would you be interested" bummer I already had painted mine and declined.
He got his galvanized somewhere near Cornwall Ontario and it still looks new to this day. I have stripped and painted mine three time and it's due again very soon.
It would be a nice if you could assemble and use the sawmill a couple times, just in case you need to make an adjustment or add a feature you missed before galvanizing it.
Click to expand...
That's why I'm leaning toward galvanizing this. The difference between our two trailers is remarkable. I'd even say mine see more winter driving too. Not sure what the price difference between painting would be, but for something that sits in the open air (would eventually be covered) it seems like great insurance against my most hated activity D

I'll probably use it a while to iron out gremlins before sending it in case I need to do any major surgery on it. So far It's a half and half build of CAD and scrap pile engineering, so I'm sure there's bound to be cutoff wheels involved at some point.....:D.

That brings up a side point about spot repair. I remember seeing some galvanizing bars, not sure if they were pure zinc or an alloy of other metals, but they were like a solder bar and you heated up the repair area and melted the bar over it. Anyone use them before?

First google search result http://www.globalweldingsupplies.co.nz/product/galv-repair-bar-6mm-4647.htmx?link=1
Seems like a pretty cheap and handy thing to have around. I've used cold galvanizing spray before, but these seem a lot better in applicable situations.
 
Ironman said:
I've used galvanizing a bit, my truck headache rack, and the steps. If you don't drill the vent holes where this are inconspicuous, they will drill them at random and they may be very visible to you. They are concerned for their safety, not your ascetics. I also had a 150 gal propane tank done as I was converting it to a air receiver. I spec'ed that all the thread ports be chased after the dip and they gladly did that.
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Good point about them drilling vs me. While it wouldn't bother me, they gotta do what they gotta do, any out of symmetry holes would forever catch my attention lol.
 
I have not used the stick, even the local dipper doesn't use the stick (the only guy they had to do it retired)

The guy I sub for has one for this job, he has not used it either, the procedure explained to me for it sounded pretty much like brazing, heat up the parent metal, dab it in...I'll let you know if I get a chance to try it out

But for now my experience for touch ups, and the most common, is just spray put of a can, brush out of a can, or the most expensive..... metalizing....metalizing is the best, then brush on our of a can, followed by rattle can
 
I've been reading more about it since posting, and it looks pretty simple. As oyu said, like brazing, heat up parent metal, melt rod, brush around to spread out with stainless brush. I'm going to try and get a couple sticks to try it out. Always handy having stuff like that around just in case. I have used the rattle can before, but IMO it's more of a cosmetic match for blending repairs. Not a long lasting solution. No experience with metalizing, but that process has always looks cool. Would love to try it someday. I missed a deal on market place a few years back for a gun with a huge stash of powders for around $100 and still think about that one lol.
 
Dan Dubeau said:
Always handy having stuff like that around just in case. I have used the rattle can before, but IMO it's more of a cosmetic match for blending repairs. Not a long lasting solution.
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quality ColdGalv will last, but it's primarily for structural steel that doesn't see any abrasion or handling.
 
Have you found anyone out your way? We use Court or AZZ just west of Toronto, but unless you're shipping it's a bit of a hike ..... and two trips because you'll have to leave it. Last time AZZ seemed to have better pricing
 
No, I have not called around yet, or found anything on the east side. Just a few google searches turning up some around the west end/brapton. I figured being where I am this is a 2 trip kind of deal anyway. Your two sources might be a stretch, but AZZ in Acton might be worth the drive....... From where I am, by the time I hit the road, an extra half hour or 45 to the other side of the Toronto and beyond isn't really that big of a deal. Depending on time of course. I can always find something to bring home on marketplace to make the empty trip worth while :D.

While I have no experience with Galvanizing, my experience with "coating" vendors makes me trust sources that come recommended more, over blind web searches, so thank you.
 
I know you said that you hate painting, but for most things is it probably both more durable and cheaper than galvanizing. Someone had to say it, so cue the boos ...
 
AZZ must have quite the monopoly now, they bought out the one in calgary a few years ago, shut it down, and now everything for them get sent up to Edmonton. For a while it either had to go to azz in Edmonton (they have a yard here you drop off at, then they truck it up), or a place in Saskatchewan. gladly Sureway/Riteway put together a galvanizing operation in calgary and we can get sub 1 week turn arounds.

You probably wont find many options, the environmental and zoning requirements makes it pretty tough to get into.......never mind the cost to fill a decent sized tank full of liquid zinc

I dont think the cost is very high for the end result, here at sureway its 300$ min charge, and usually about .65$ a lb, there is a thread in here with a bumper i had galvanized, i was able to throw it in with some other things and it cost i think 60$. If you can find someone who will let you throw it in with you could avoid the min charge

A guy i work for had his 16' car trailer galvanized about 4 years ago, he beats the $hit out of it, uses it to haul steel/fabricated parts, it gets hauled around 3-4 times a week, rain, snow, salt, things get drug up and down the galvanized bits, still looks great, not a spot of rust.....its hard to beat galvanized parts for durability

as for the holes, dont chance it and let them drill it......you will end up with the ugliest torch holes in the worst places
 
$300 min, and 0.65/lb is kinda of the ballpark info I was hoping for. Honestly that's way better than I thought. I was thinking I'd be into around $5-600 for this one just as a WAG. Even still that was worth it to me for the protection and never having to paint it lol. While I haven't finished the entire design, I can't see this frame weldment being more than 2-250lbs total in a couple bolt together pieces. I wasn't planning on doing the bunk frame, but am considering it now too it's 24'x45" so might cost a bit more....... We'll see how the cookie crumbles when it all gets built. Thanks for the info fellas, I appreciate it.
 
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