Next.....galvanizing....

[knac1234]

Hello all,

I am about 2 weeks away from dropping off stuff to be galvanized.

Here is the list so far:
-Roof gutter trim
-Breakfast panel
-All tub trim
-Rear bench seats
-Roof rack
-Wiper washer reservoir bracket
-Panels that go on top of the seat box
-Front headlamp guards
-Pie plate
-Bonnet hinges
-Windscreen frame
-Fuel filler trim and cap and maybe a locking hasp as I think I found one in my parts stash!

Are certain brackets (like the brackets holding the seat belts at the bottom of the seat box); door latches/catches; the hood release mechanism; etc... galvanized already or can they be?

What prep (if any) should I expect to have to do on these parts (clean, sandblast???)

Any suggestions on other stuff (aside from frame and bulkhead!) that can/should be done, please let me know. Never galvanized anything before!

Julian

[amcordo]

Hi Julian!

I love galvanizing things. If I could galvanize myself I would.

That being said, I'd stay away from galvanizing your fuel cap. There's potential it'll be really annoying to file down to get it to fit perfect afterwards. But then again, they're cheap so if you're willing to experiment...

PREP:
Get it all chemically dipped. You can do the sandblasting route, but it doesn't get into the little places like a good 'ol chemical bath. I dont' know where you're based, but large cities usually have a place that'll do it. This will strip not only the paint, but any tar etc. stuck on everything. Even if they say they do it, don't expect your galvanizer to do that thorough of a job of removing the old paint, etc. before dipping.

Other things to dip
The bulkhead supports
steering box support
Door frames (remove the aluminum skin by carefully peeling back the folded-over parts with a sheet metal tool)
The various steel shields that are attached to the inside of the wings/fenders to keep debris from flying into your engine bay
The door posts (it's the column that stands up just behind your door and runs down under the car. It's probably rusty)
Door hinges (take them apart and remove the pin before sending them out)
Spare tire brackets

[amcordo]

Are certain brackets (like the brackets holding the seat belts at the bottom of the seat box); door latches/catches; the hood release mechanism; etc... galvanized already or can they be?

Julian


The trick to know if a moving part (i.e. a hinge, or the hood release, etc) can be galvanized is whether it can be taken apart and easily bored/sanded/filed. The hinges can be taken apart, and then following the galvanizing you can easily bore out the excess zinc from the bore hole with a simple drill. The door latches and hood latch I didn't try because there were lots of parts rubbing on each other so it would involve some rather fine filing to fit together right again after adding the zinc.

[SafeAirOne]

Everything you ever wanted to know about galvanizing, but didn't know who to ask can be found here (http://www.galvanizeit.org/aga/designing-fabricating/design-considerations/). See the section entitled "Moving Parts" to see what the industry's recommendations are.

[Dav1550]

Not sure if you’ve done it, but I cross braced the roof gutter with some slotted galvanized angle to help maintain the shape while dipping it.

[ThorH]

Front bumper and rear grab handles.

[knac1234]

Thanks for all the comments!

Bumper and grab handles--had to get a new bumper, and no grab handles due to the Defender rear "bumper" on mine

Roof gutter--how exactly did you cross brace this? Do I need to have steel welded in or bolted in?

Regards,
Julian

[Dav1550]

Slotted angle from the local home store…
Like this http://www.lowes.com/SearchCatalogDisplay?Ntt=slotted+angle+&langId=-1&storeId=10151&catalogId=10051&N=0

Made up the bracing in an “X” pattern attaching the angle to the rain gutter with ¼-20 bolts and small pieces of cut steel tubing for a spacer to hold the angle off the rain gutter a ¼”to ½” or so…..Then had the whole thing dipped with the braces in place for a bit of added rigidly and lessen the chance of spreading twisting or such………
When it came back from the galvanizers it was just a matter of cutting through the spacer with a side-grinder to get the bracing off and then of course drill out the endless 3/16th holes to prepare it to accept the roof…
http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l16/Raincrow1/100_0702.jpg

[Dav1550]

Tub supports might be considered, it’s a chance to check and ward off any corrosion that might be going on between the support and tub….

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l16/Raincrow1/100_0290.jpg

[knac1234]

Dav1550-

Thanks for the pics. That bracing should be easy to do.

Tub....well, I'm not digging that far in. I've said all along I'm just sprucing the truck up, but my wife (supportive as she is) has said that there appears to be many parts lying about and quite a bit more "sprucing" than I led on :p

Julian

[ignotus]

Take the frame out of the bonnet and do it also! fix any problems with it first.

gene