A little progress today

[nu2-72]

Bare and ready to coat. All frame, crossmembers, transfer case mount and skid plate to be galvanized. Forgot, reciever hitch also.

[blazerparts]

the start of something good

[krue]

Sounds cool, haven't seen one galvanized before.

[Canadian694x4]

Can't wait to see it after the galvanizing! Good Show!

[jhwkns]

Aw c'mon Kevin chrome's prettier..

Looks Great!

[Joe67]

Very nice!

[BLAZERMAN]

It looks like you have been busy!!! Let me know when you get it back, I'd like to come up and take a look at it.

[Yukon Jack]

Looking great.

[nu2-72]

Heading out for the shopright now. The guy said he would meet me on a Saturday totakeit.And it is starting to snow. Gotta get going. I will keep everyone posted on this.
Thanks guys.

[teeitup]

Looking good Kevin!!!! We got about 2 inches so far this morning here.

[too much stuff]

Gonna be nice when you get that done!!! Keep the pics coming...

[nu2-72]

Just got back. Snowed the first 100 miles and then cleared off. We have not gotten that much yet here at home.
Ryan at Monnig tells me that he will have it done early next week for pickup.
I ended up taking the frame, engine crossmember and two attaching brackets, two transmission crossmembers, the skidplate, transfer case mounts, steering stabilizer bracket, one aux. battery tray and the reciever hitch. Can't wait to get it home and start building.
The front axle is almost complete. I want new rotors and need to clean and paint the hubs, re-pack the bearings. All the lockouts are NOS and will look very nice.
Think I should have galvanized the tow hooks?

[Canadian694x4]

Originally Posted by nu2-72

Think I should have galvanized the tow hooks?

Ya ya...do it!

[FRENCHBLUE72]

Should look pretty killer when you get it back keep us posted and show off the pics..

[86swb]

Originally Posted by krue

Sounds cool, haven't seen one galvanized before.

Why galvanized instead of powder coating? Is it better?

[Edmond]

Looks great Kevin!!

I have seen the Lockouts, I'm sure these will look outstanding!!
Keep us posted on the progress.

Cya,
Edmond

[nu2-72]

My opinion here so take it as such.
I have had many items powder coated. What I see is this. If the item is 100%, 360 degree accessible, powder coating is great. Bunpers, brackets, any single wall item or single piece of an assembly works well.
The frame is made up of core support brackets, cab mount brackets, bed mounting and brake brackets and crossmembers. Many of these items are factory rivited and 30+ years old now. Corrosion has had time to penetrate between these layers and no amount of sandblasting will reach those areas. They also are part of a very strong but flexing assemble. Powder coat is a surface cover only. And any flex will crack powder coat even at the smallest level. I have had rust appear after time on powder coated items. True,a good coater can delay that for awhile but it still happens. A show vehicle may never do it but a trail rig that is put to extreme angles will do so sooner.
Galvanizing is a multiple process. The parts were sandblasted to get the cleanest surface to start with. The galvanizer will then dip the entire assembly or part into an acid bath. This fluid will penetrate between even the smallest gap. The parts are then rinsed in a neutralizer and head to galvanizing. The galvanizing process is not a coating. The metal is taken to a high temperature and when the steel part is introduced to the liquid, a metallurgical reaction takes place. First you are dealing with a liquid so it will penetrate the space between the rivited brackets (where powder coat only bridges over) and it also binds with the steel. The pores of the steel open up and the zinc penetrates into the sublayers of the metal. When the metal cools the zinc is now part of the frame, not a coating on top of it.
The galvanizer tells me that his coating will last 7500 years. Perhaps an exageration, maybe not. Will powder coat hold up that long? No, and I know you are thinking that we won't be here that long either. But I plan to be here 15 years from now. And this frame should look exactly like next Monday.
And cost is a factor as well. The galvanizer and I talked about this before I went to him and he was very interested in the project. Total cost for all the parts will be $100.00. We even discussed the best angles for dipping in order to provide the best appearance. This is a molten metal and will run and drip until cool. Ryan said he would do this one himself.
I am stoked.
Plus, I have a buddy that rebuilt a Jeep and he purchased a new, galvanized frame from 4WheelHardware and it is awesome. I have seen painted truck frames on this board, powder coated, POR 15'd and others. Not a galvanized yet. So, here goes.
Does any of this make sense or am I a madman?

[too much stuff]

Yes it makes sense, and yes you are a madman! How far are you going with the galvanizing? Susp components? Drive shafts? How about axle housings? Post pics when you get it back.

[nu2-72]

OK, I'll quit on the emblem collecting. LOL
Plans are to just do the components that relate to the frame. Engine stands are already painted black or I would have done them as the last two pieces. I did take an aux. battery tray. It was bare steel and if I acid etch it I can still paint it black and have the added corrosion protection of the zinc.
Let me know when you and Bruce are coming and I will show it to you.

[Joesjunk]

Sounds like a great idea. And it sounds cheap too!! What color will it be? Can the do satin black??

[Long Roof]

I agree with the assessment of galvanizing. I work for a design build contractor and we send all of our steel, subject to the outside climant, to be galvanized. It is extremely durable and fairly cheep if you have a large amount of weight to dip. We send truck loads of steel down. If I ever go the full on rebiuld I will have my frame dipped also. Word of caution though, never send anything that is hollow but sealed such as a drive shaft! If dipped it would explode and the dipper will not hesitate to torch a very ugly hole in it.

Aaron

[nu2-72]

Joe, shiny as a new lamp post. As the zinc cures, it will begin to oxidize and dull slightly. No black that I am aware of but this would be an excellent base for coatings. Aren't bodies and panels on todays cars zinc dipped?
When I bought my H&H I needed a trailer ball and hitch. The 10k hitch was solid 2 x 2 and galvanized. I liked the looks and after a year it still looks new. So I decided to do the reciever also. I contacted the reciever manufacturer and explained what I was doing and they are sending all new decals at no charge so it will look brand new and factory. They liked the idea as paint chips off and they rust. They are always worried about liability after years of use and abuse and they were appreciative that I was taking care of their product. Maybe they will be on the market someday and I started something. Royalties you think??

[phantom dually]

What kind of finish does galvanized have. It makes me think of galvanized piping which has a nasty graying dull finish.

[nu2-72]

You mean as opposed to glossy black covered in road tar and mud?
Should look like this

http://www.4wd.com/newsite/shop/prod....asp?pid=57622

[Chrome8]

hey, this stuff sounds really interesting. I was going to have mine painted chassis black at the sandblaster but i think i'll do this. Any ideas for front and rear ends? It seems like no matter what you coat em with they chip and rust over time. Would this be a solution? could a guy dip one completley dissasembled? It wouldn't interfere with anything would it?