What are the down sides of galvanizing?
• Because galvanizing is thick, it can’t be done on standard nuts and bolts; rather the threads have to be specially cut to allow room for the galvanized coating. Zinc plating or nickel plating nuts and bolts doesn’t have that problem. • Most people don’t find galvanizing to be a very decorative finish. • Unless special measures are taken, paint does not stick well to galvanizing. • Some parts can’t be easily galvanized. For example, sealed tubes would be very dangerous to dip into molten zinc because water trapped inside could flash to steam and blow molten zinc out of the dip tank. • It is dangerous to weld galvanized parts without proper hoods and excellent ventilation that assure the fumes will not be inhaled (look up metal fume fever).
