TheSamba.com :: View topic - Any thought on galvanizing the engine tin

Fri Nov 14, 2008 12:37 pm

I have access to a cheap guy who works at a galvanizing plant. I have never tried to paint anything galvanized but can it be done.

Fri Nov 14, 2008 1:22 pm

Maybe someone who did better in physics than me could chime in and confirm or correct my guess that the galvanized coating would reflect heat back into the cooling airflow almost as well as chrome engine tin. In terms of corrosion prevention, its a cool idea. But I think it would have a detrimental effect on the cooling system as a whole.

Brent Hughes

Fri Nov 14, 2008 1:45 pm

There is a process called "Galvalume" that is paintable. It's the stuff you see on metal buildings and pole barns. Seems I saw some paintable galvanizing paint in a spray can at the FLAPS. Have him do a piece of scrap sheet metal for you and see if paint will stick to it.

Fri Nov 14, 2008 2:04 pm

hello
zinc is a poison

Fri Nov 14, 2008 6:03 pm

Paint doesn't tend to stick well to recently hot dipped metal. On older galvanizing it does all right if you clean the metal well. I would think that it would stick well enough if you were getting the tin spray galvanized instead of hot dipped.

I don't think there would be any problems with your tin getting hot enough to burn off the zinc. It is used on things like mufflers after all. Melting point 788°F.

Fri Nov 14, 2008 6:40 pm

Would powder coating not hold up well?

Fri Nov 14, 2008 6:48 pm

I'll just have him dip the tin to strip them and go for the normal paint.

Fri Nov 14, 2008 6:58 pm

Damn, if he can remove all the paint and rust with a dip and galvanize it that would be awesome for a winter driven bus. I'd roll it without paint, may look kinda cool and would never rust again. Beats the hell out of 2+ hours sandblasting in a cabinet and hanging all those pieces up to paint.

Sat Nov 15, 2008 7:09 am

busdaddy wrote: Damn, if he can remove all the paint and rust with a dip and galvanize it that would be awesome for a winter driven bus. I'd roll it without paint, may look kinda cool and would never rust again. Beats the hell out of 2+ hours sandblasting in a cabinet and hanging all those pieces up to paint.

I think you hit on it. "A winter driven bus". Who wants to change tin out for the summer months?

To answer someone elses question, I think powdercoating would hold up fine. I've sandblasted and Rustoleum (spray) painted most of my engine tin, and never had much issue with any of it. I think powdercoating would be best, but I dont have access to one locally. (Well, one I trust anyway.)

Sat Nov 15, 2008 7:26 am

Kirk wrote: Who wants to change tin out for the summer months?

Don't think that he was implying that you should change it out seasonally, just that it wouldn't get to be such a rusty mess if it were galvanized.

As for the color of the tin, I wouldn't think that it would have much affect on the cooling. Ninety plus percent of the radiant heat for the fins is just going to end up in an adjacent fin, only a very small percentage would be radiated towards the tin, and most the radiant heat which is absorbed by the tin is going to be removed by the cooling air flow do to convection.

Sat Nov 15, 2008 9:22 am

Ya the idea is to have the guy do a couple of pieces a week. Ya it will look crappy but it is free. Powder coat is large on price but better looking. I have the engine out and will not assemble it until the spring.

Would the galvanization give off a gas?

Sat Nov 15, 2008 10:27 am

Powder-coating will work perfectly fine on engine tin. My Squareback has been coated in it for years and it holds up better than typical paint.

Sat Nov 15, 2008 10:47 am

1975 Kombi wrote: Would the galvanization give off a gas?

So long as you're fuel lines don't rupture and you get a serious engine fire, no. There is kind of an oily coat on new hot dipped galvanized that will disappear with time. Don't know what it is or if it is volatile.

Sat Nov 15, 2008 10:50 am

I can't imagine it giving off anything worse than paint would, leave it out in the weather for a while if you are worried.

Sat Nov 15, 2008 11:25 am

Maybe you could start a service. We box up and send you all our tin and you return it to us a week later and relieve us of a hundred bucks. I would go for tin that was maintenance free.

Sat Nov 15, 2008 12:15 pm

I will at least try a couple of pieces just to see how they turn out. He rides his bike to work and back everyday so I can't load him down.

Sat Nov 15, 2008 1:02 pm

I have washed metal with vinegar to remove the oil residue left by galvanizing metal. Still had the paint peel too. That was house gutter though. Zinc is poison. I was told as a boy take those nails out of your mouth. Cool idea for tin.

Sat Nov 15, 2008 1:05 pm

Good point, as pretty as your engine looks DON'T LICK IT !!

Tremclad makes a special primer for galvanized if you are bent on painting it.

Sat Nov 15, 2008 1:26 pm

Lucas Grams wrote: Zinc is poison.

Water is a poison too if you consume to much of it.

http://www.ctds.info/zinc1.html

Wed Nov 19, 2008 12:09 am

VW Germany used to sell late model bug engine tin in yellow cad/zinc (?). I'm not sure if they intended for it to be painted by the purchaser, or whether it was OK to run as is. It certainly looked different.

Al