Cold Galvanizing

[neofeudal]

Hello! I am a new Series III 88" owner looking to shore up some issues to stave off any further erosion of my vehicle.

The metal trim at the edges of the aluminum panels as well as the wind shield is rusting in places. Now, the purists seem to say that I should take out all those rivets and replace or hot galvanize the metal. But I lack resources and time and am thinking that cold galvanizing paint would be OK. At least, it would look better cosmetically and would preserve the metal.

What do you all think? And, does anybody have any best practices on on how to cold galvanize?

Thank you!
--Jason

[yorker]

Cold galvanizing is just a zinc rich paint. It will never really look like real galvanizing but it can be an effective means to save your trim for the time being. Remove as much rust as you can and use a good quality cold galvanizing paint.

[parrie]

Depends on how long you want to "stave-off" further erosion. As Yorker metioned, cold galvanizing is basically just zinc rich paint. The paint will not match the original hot galvanized metal nor will it last even if you get rid of any rust that you can see. The problem is you cannot get at the un-exposed surfaces...if the underside of the parts are rusted it won't be long before the rust works it's way through the edges and rivets. On the other hand hot dip galavanizing the parts or replacing them will give you years of service. Unfortunately the hot dip avenue or replacment can be time consuming and expensive. If you go the cold galvanizing route do your homework on which product to use...there are many different products. This is one case where more expensive is usually better. I'd avoid the spray cans at your local parts store, check with an automotive paint shop.

[yorker]

Like everything else it really depends on the paint you use, I have parts I painted with Cold Galvanizing spray back in 1996-7 that are to this day rust free- despite salted roads in winter etc. I used a couple different brands back then though and can't recall which was which so I can't really recommend one vs. the other. Obviously one shouldn't expect the same results from the $8 a can Walmart variety as compared to what the DOT uses...

I am pretty sure the better stuff I used was made by Crown and was in qt cans.

[Myron]

I've also had moderate success with Crown brand cold galvanizing compound, but I think you should give serious consideration to leaving it alone. Old galvanized trim looks cool and lends character to your Rover. The cold spray-on stuff looks dusty and flat and lacks the proper flaked appearance. Better than body-colored paint, or black heaven forbid, but leaving it alone or going whole hog and removing the bits and redipping them are both better options in my book. The latter is really not that difficult if you have any tool competency at all.

Myron

[o2batsea]

Hot dip galvanizing is not expensive. Going rate is about 250 clams for 600 pounds. The place I use, Baltimore Galvanizing, charges the same whether it is one giant honk of steel or a hundred little parts that have to be wired up.
Cold galvanizing spray is a waste of time. The tub cappings don't have all that many rivets.

[TedW]

Just my $0.02: I cold galvanized assorted parts 20 years ago and they still look good - and I'm on the coast o' Maine, where salt rules - both in the air and on the road.

Rustoleum makes a "Bright Galvanizing Compound" that, in my view, looks more like dip galvy than anything else I've used ( and I've tried many). The older it gets, the better it looks.

Other commenters are absolutely correct when they say that dip galvanizing is best. However, there are places where "cold galvanizing" works well: I used the product mentioned above on my bonnet hinges, heater intake and rear pull handles (see handy avatar photo). Looks swell!

[Boston]

Cold galvy sounds like the right thing to do on body cappings. Now that galvy defender cappings are nla

[parrie]

Don't get me wrong, cold galvanizing done correctly w/ a good product can be effective and last but as I mentioned before...if there is excessive rust underneath the cappings and such and you already have rust coming through from underneath the cappings and through rivit holes cold galvanizing is not going to last unless you pull the cappings and paint the entire piece. It really comes down to your plans for the truck and your budget...if you plan to do an actual restoration I'd take the time to get everything hot dipped other wise cold galvanizing will dress it up nicely. Coincidently I'm getting ready to do a frame-off on my '62 IIa. The previous owner had cold galvanized all the cappings...some look great, others have rust bleeding through the rivits. I'm going to take the mystery out of it and have everything regalvanized. As o2batsea mentioned it is not terribly expensive and well worth the effort.

[neofeudal]

WOW! You all are so helpful. Thank you all for sharing your experiences!!!

[TedW]

Helpful hint: I've replaced all of the capping on my truck with newly redipped regalvanized parts found on ebay. It appears that when people do a galvy run they bring extra stuff and sell of the surplus.

Sooo, keep an eye out!

[yorker]

Yeah thats a great way to help pay for a galvy run- especially if there is a minimum # for x$.