Zinc coated steel?

[dyethor]

I use a cutting torch or a map gas torch to heat up the zinc to molten in order to move it around yet keep a layer on the steel. I do this on parts with tighter tolerances. Not where parts need to be welded but where they have moving parts. The place that galvanizes my stuff usually puts it on pretty thick. My machines have to survive a junkyard, and powder coating in that type environment is a joke.

[welderdude]

I have another interesting way to take care of zinc plating. Muriatic acid aka hydrochloric acid will react with the zinc and remove it. It also kind of etches the steel once it eats through. also, a small amount of hydrogen gas is produced during the reaction. I believe lye aka sodium hydroxide will do the same thing although I haven't tried it yet.

[jp2code]

I have another interesting way to take care of zinc plating. Muriatic acid aka hydrochloric acid will react with the zinc and remove it. It also kind of etches the steel once it eats through. also, a small amount of hydrogen gas is produced during the reaction. I believe lye aka sodium hydroxide will do the same thing although I haven't tried it yet.

So, what kind of place does a welder walk into to get hydrochloric acid?

[welderdude]

About any hardware/home improvement store. Its usually sold as concrete cleaner and sometimes says Muriatic acid on the container. Its dirt cheap too.

[Cippee]

Muriatic acid is nasty stuff put some on aluminum and it eats it alive.

[welderdude]

Its definitely something that can get ugly. It puts of some nasty fumes that burns the living piss out of your nose. Its something to play with outside with a garden hose near by. I recently used the process to clean up some 1/4'' x 4'' x 5 foot pieces of flat stock. It was the toe kick on some pieces of railing i acquired. This stuff was not only painted, but had the thickest coating of zinc I have ever seen. This stuff is literally .010'' thick on each side. It horrible trying to grind the stuff off. I just happened to have a plastic sled that was about the right size. I just soaked it until it quit bubbling and hit it with a flap disk and went to town.

[Cippee]

Its definitely something that can get ugly. It puts of some nasty fumes that burns the living piss out of your nose. Its something to play with outside with a garden hose near by. I recently used the process to clean up some 1/4'' x 4'' x 5 foot pieces of flat stock. It was the toe kick on some pieces of railing i acquired. This stuff was not only painted, but had the thickest coating of zinc I have ever seen. This stuff is literally .010'' thick on each side. It horrible trying to grind the stuff off. I just happened to have a plastic sled that was about the right size. I just soaked it until it quit bubbling and hit it with a flap disk and went to town.

When I was in high school my friend almost died. He worked at at pool store and he mixed muriatic acid and ph + or -. He said he saw a green gas which I'm assuming was chlorine gas and then he passed out. Luckily his boss heard the thump and came in and pulled him out. He want to the hospital and they said he burned his lungs slightly.

[posixPilot]

Grinding off the zinc is the way to go at the debris flying off are still a solid not a gas.

I plan on grinding it down.

Cheers
Mike

[dyethor]

Mixing chemicals are no joke. Unfortunately people don't know what they are doing and get hurt.

[posixPilot]

I plan on grinding it down.

So, I finally welded this piece last weekend (it was actually two separate brackets). I ground them, but I couldn't really tell where the coating stopped and the steel began. Used a respirator and a fan when I welded them, but I still sucked in some of the fumes. I wasn't feeling that great on Sunday night, and by Monday morning I had convinced my self I had zinc poising. Fortunately, when I got to the office, I found out that a number of folks I work with caught a cold, including me. Score one more for the hypochondriacs .

Cheers
Mike