bridgetchicken
Songster
- Sep 19, 2022
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Is galvanized hardware cloth rust proof? I will paint it with black rustoleum paint. But if they get wet, will they rust?
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If I were you, I wouldn't paint it. You can if you want to, but that would minimize the protective effect of the galvanized coating on the steel. You want the moisture in the air to react with the zinc and therefore not with the steel underneath (which would create rust). If you paint it, the moisture can't get to the zinc well, there would be pinholes in the paint, and small areas where the paint doesn't cover. There would only be a small amount of zinc available to protect the steel because the rest was painted, and corrosion in pinholes is much faster than on unenclosed surfaces. If you paint it your cloth will fail faster than if you don't. Still may take a number of years.Is galvanized hardware cloth rust proof? I will paint it with black rustoleum paint. But if they get wet, will they rust?
Not at all. Galvanized hardware cloth is carbon steel or low alloy steel that has been welded together and then hot dip galvanized with zinc. This means they dip the mesh into a big pool of molten zinc. When the mesh comes out, the zinc cools onto it, forming a coating. The zinc reacts with the moisture and oxygen in the air, forming an oxide coating, preferentially reacting with oxygen to protect the steel from rusting. When you run out of zinc metal to react with, then the oxygen/moisture starts attacking the steel. But this is on a molecular level, so there is a lot of zinc that the moisture/oxygen has to get through first before it can rust the steel. Galvanization is a much cheaper process than stainless steel production.Is galvanized metal the same as stainless steel?
Eventually, but it could take years before they rust.Is galvanized hardware cloth rust proof? I will paint it with black rustoleum paint. But if they get wet, will they rust?
How interesting!!! Very cool. I haven't worked with galvanized steel much in a professional capacity, mainly stainless and carbon or low alloy steels that were ungalvanized. I did not know that about painting of galvanized steel, or if I did I had forgotten. I'll have to remember that next time I want to extend the life of my galvanized hardware cloth - if I could get a good continuous coat of paint on it (or maybe some powder coating, cause it's more flexible but I wonder about the cost and what's the application temperature?), I could probably bury that stuff and have it last even longer than it would just being hot dip galvanized. Of course, it would take years to see any difference, but still, neat idea!@FunClucks Wondering where you picked up your knowledge. I'm not trying to pick a fight, just wondering about your perspective. Your experience sounds different from mine. I have zero experience with stainless steel by the way.
I worked in design, construction, and maintenance of the offshore platforms. The splash zone, the area just above the still water level where the waves splashed, are extremely corrosive both because of them staying wet and the salty conditions. We found we could get extended life out of galvanized steel components like handrails and grating if we painted it. When we did a repair on grating, where it was tack welded on was painted. The difference in how fast grating corroded where the overspray coated it versus just grating was dramatic. We got with the scientists and it wasn't long before we were painting all of the galvanized steel on the platform, not just in the splash zone.
I totally agree about the pinholes in the paint, we called them holidays. A pinhole concentrates the corrosion. We tested for holidays in the paint. If any were found it called for repair painting. Pinholes or scratches exposing the bare steel underneath are not good in paint or galvanizing.
The way we could put unpainted steel structures in the salty ocean without them rusting away underwater was to use anodes. We would attach blocks of zinc to the steel so they were electronically connected. A current could flow between the zinc and steel. Since the zinc was more reactive than the steel the zinc would sacrifice itself to protect the steel. As long as we replaced those zinc anodes when they were getting used up the steel could last for many decades. You have a sacrificial anode in your water heater. Many bridges and buried pipelines are protected by anodes. Ships hulls can be.
The zinc coating with galvanizing provides this type of protection, but if you can keep the zinc protected with paint you can go a lot longer before the zinc starts sacrificing itself to protect the steel.
Eventually, but it could take years before they rust.
Yes, that's the point of the galvanizing.Is galvanized hardware cloth rust proof? I will paint it with black rustoleum paint. But if they get wet, will they rust?
Does any paint stick well to galvanized?We found we could get extended life out of galvanized steel components like handrails and grating if we painted it.