about to galvanise my 110 firewall - anyone else done it?

[mark2]

Sorry if this has already been discussed before but I tried a search with no luck.

My 110 firewall is now completlly stripped - what a job! and is now at the panel shop having some welding done - new footwells etc.

It was my intention to have it hot dipped galvanised (I have previously galvanised a series 2A firewall with reasonably good results) but am having second thoughts due to:

1. The 110 firewall doesn't seem as stiff as a 2A firewall which had more bracing in the center dash area, - it seems like it may be more prone to warping or twisting and

2. There is more to lose if it is ruined in the process due to the money I am spending on repairing it, and the cost of replacing it

Some reassurance from someone who has previously successfully galvanised a 110 (or series 3 as they are very similar) firewall would be appreciated. The risk free alternative is to sandblast it and paint in industrial primer, then fishoil all the internal cavities. The downside is that nothing beats galvanising for rust protection, especially after welding. I am also galvanising the chassis (it is also stripped and ready for sandblasting) with the intent of building a rover which will last me for at least the next 20 years.

[incisor]

If warping / twisting worries you, weld a couple of stiffeners to it.

38mm x 6mm flat bar on edge would be heaps i would think

stitch welds only 5mm long in several places on each brace will be easy to remove and will be easy to rustproof with cold gal or whatever takes your fancy after removal.

galvanising usually normalises steel so it can move anywhichway but can usually be put back where it was with some patience and a portapower and chain block or two.

welding the footwells in will create some stresses to start with i would thing so it could be a good thing alround to galvanise it.. dam sure i would do mine if i had the bucks...

[Tikirocker]

Hey Mark,

I have no experience in this but have every intention of hot dipping my Series 2a bulkhead when I have done the small repair welds to it. I have heard of others success in doing it with only a very slight warp across the panel where the vents sit ... it's thinner along there. One solution is to get the guys to leave your Bulkhead to the very end of the process when it's not as hot and extreme ... I believe they can actually control the process to a certain degree and still achieve the same results with less chance of warping.
I'd have a good chat to the operator before you do the job and explain your needs. Where and how much did it cost you to get your Series B'hd done last time?

Cheers, Simon.

[mark2]

Originally posted by incisor
dam sure i would do mine if i had the bucks...

Actualy its not that expensive. Around $60 to get a firewall dipped plus about $100 for the sandblasting. I wouldnt want to be paying someone for the labor to strip and refit it however..........

[abaddonxi]

I've got not the foggiest idea, but I wanna know, I wanna know.

Keep us posted and piccied.

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/

Cheers
Simon

[mark2]

Originally posted by Tikirocker
Hey Mark,

I have no experience in this but have every intention of hot dipping my Series 2a bulkhead when I have done the small repair welds to it. I have heard of others success in doing it with only a very slight warp across the panel where the vents sit ... it's thinner along there. One solution is to get the guys to leave your Bulkhead to the very end of the process when it's not as hot and extreme ... I believe they can actually control the process to a certain degree and still achieve the same results with less chance of warping.
I'd have a good chat to the operator before you do the job and explain your needs. Where and how much did it cost you to get your Series B'hd done last time?

Cheers, Simon.

I've already asked them about the cooler dip - apparently this is a myth as if it gets too cold the bath freezes - and they dont want that. The place I use (at Narangba on the north side of Brisbane) works 24 hours per day.
The current rate is $1.20 per kilo of galvanised weight. A firewall only weighs about 25-30 kg. Galvanising might add about 3kg to it.
I had some slight rippling in the 2A firewall which was hidden by the olive drab lusterless paint and a bit of difficulty refitting the windscreen frame. The captive nut plates for the door hinges in the 2A are a bit of a pain as they sieze up and make refitting the doors a bit of a challenge as well.

[defenderbilby]

G'day Mark,

I don't know much about galvanizing firewall but was warned against it as risk of warping.
I have a 110 firewall that needs repairing and treating. Have a look at POR15 paints. Very expensive as far as paint goes but a lot of car restorers are using it. There is a company in NSW that imports it. This is what I will be using.
www.por15.com.au
You also mention that they will be putting in new footwells. Have you been able to source these as only ones I can find are from Series firewalls and the footwell are different.
Let us know what you have done.

David

[Tikirocker]

I believe our English cousins have had a long association with POR15 and there are some serious health risks associated with using the stuff so it might do for any potential users to make sure of the do's and don't of that stuff to guard against injury in the long term.

[LRHybrid100]

I was told by the bloke in Brookvale, NSW not to gal the firewall - he is also a LR nut.

He recommended blasting and then "organic" galvinised spray.

HTH

LRH

[Tikirocker]

Originally posted by LRHybrid100
I was told by the bloke in Brookvale, NSW not to gal the firewall - he is also a LR nut.

He recommended blasting and then "organic" galvinised spray.

HTH

LRH

I assume by organic you can also just paint it with Cold Gal ... that's another option I am considering to avoid warping. You then paint over the cold gal.

[LRHybrid100]

I think he says its better than the standard cold gal.

LRH

[Tikirocker]

Ohh? What exactly is the process mate ... any info on who does it etc?

[mark2]

Originally posted by defenderbilby
G'day Mark,


You also mention that they will be putting in new footwells. Have you been able to source these as only ones I can find are from Series firewalls and the footwell are different.
Let us know what you have done.

David

I am just cutting out the old footwells and replacing them with a similar section which will have some indentations pressed in for added strength.

The original 110 footwell design is very poor - the ribbed sections are sealed by the flat floor panel and very rust prone.

The series footwells while different will fit - depends if you want it to be exactly original - I dont mind, as long as it looks OK.

[mark2]

Originally posted by LRHybrid100
I was told by the bloke in Brookvale, NSW not to gal the firewall - he is also a LR nut.

He recommended blasting and then "organic" galvinised spray.

HTH

LRH

The guy who does my sandblasting is also able to spray it in an industrial epoxy primer. I'm sure that with any decent primer after blasting and then plenty of fishoil etc in the internal cavities it would last a long time. Its just that galvanising is the ultimate in protection and does all the internal bits as well. The acid dip also treats all the internal rust which is always there. I will do some research into this organic galvanising coating - the sandblaster doesnt use it but if I can spray it myself within a few hours of blasting it should be OK

[one_iota]

One of the tricks of galvanising is to ensure that there are no air pockets when the work piece is dipped. This means that the angle of immersion and the provision of vent holes is important both for effective coverage and also safety for the operator.

Given the complexity of the fire wall a galvaniser should be consulted prior to dipping.

There is a case of an Architect being sued because the component he designed contained an airpocket and exploded during dipping because a vent hole was not included in the design. The operator was blinded 8O

[mark2]

Originally posted by Tikirocker+--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Tikirocker)</div><div class='quotemain'><!--QuoteBegin-LRHybrid100
I was told by the bloke in Brookvale, NSW not to gal the firewall - he is also a LR nut.

He recommended blasting and then "organic" galvinised spray.

HTH

LRH

I assume by organic you can also just paint it with Cold Gal ... that's another option I am considering to avoid warping. You then paint over the cold gal.[/b][/quote]

This stuff looks like the go.....
]http://www.zinga.com.au/pages/front.htm[url] (http://www.zinga.com.au/pages/front.htm[url="http://%5dhttp://www.zinga.com.au/pages/front.htm%5burl%5d")

I have emailed for a quote - I'm not expecting it to be cheap...

[Tikirocker]

Looks good mate, I'll be VERY keen to see what the word is ... I need to do my repacement bulkhead ... that link wasn't working so I'll repost it here ---> http://www.zinga.com.au/pages/front.html

[abaddonxi]

Originally posted by Tikirocker
Looks good mate, I'll be VERY keen to see what the word is ... I need to do my repacement bulkhead ... that link wasn't working so I'll repost it here ---> http://www.zinga.com.au/pages/front.html

I think the important bit of the non-galvanising zinc paints is high zinc content.

Cheers
Simon

[mark2]

This product also purpots to be a lot harder than cold gal which is very soft -even with a hard top coat it chips easily.

The price for a 2kg tin is about $80 inc GST. Guessing this is about equal to 1 litre or so when thinned- should be enough for a couple of coats on a firewall just.

[one_iota]

Zinc is a wonderful substance in the presence of steel because it takes the oxidisation flack before iron does.

A handy link:

http://www.corp.indgalv.com.au/technical/manual.htm

[one_iota]

This guy galvanised his SIII 109 bulkhead with only a little warping:

http://www.landrovernet.com/forum/showthre...ead.php't=23188 (http://www.landrovernet.com/forum/showthread.php't=23188)

http://www.landrovernet.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=13639&d=1105200155

[mark2]

Just an update,

I've had the firewall blasted and sprayed in the organic zinc coating. This cost me $100. New footwells, drilling out the county vent plates, welding up all the spot weld drill holes and replacing the top corners cost me $340 to have professionally done. It now has a couple of coats of olive drab and has been pumped full of fishoil, turned upside down and re-fishoiled. I have before and after photos if someone can post them for me.

[one_iota]

Originally posted by mark2


I have before and after photos if someone can post them for me.

You can email me ( eno_atoi@yahoo.com.au ) and I can organise this https://www.aulro.com/afvb/

[Tikirocker]

Originally posted by mark2
Just an update,

I've had the firewall blasted and sprayed in the organic zinc coating. This cost me $100.

Very cool ... who does the organic zinc spraying for you? do these guys who did it for you have a franchise business in Sydney or are they a one off? I need to get this done myself but not sure where and who might do it.

Simon.

[mark2]

I had it done in Gympie. Most sandblasting mobs are set up for this sort of thing, the coating has to go on within a few hours of being blasted or it will rust again. This coating is used on a lot of structural steelwork like bridges etc.

[LRHybrid100]

the sandblasters in Brookvale, NSW does the organic gal spray.

HTH

LRH

[Tikirocker]

Mark,

I used to deliver seafood up at Gympie when I was living in the Glasshouse Mtns ... are the streets still collapsing from the underground mines? https://www.aulro.com/afvb/ Thanks mate I'll get onto it ... there's a good Land Rover spares place in Gympie alsi if my memory serves where I've bought a few things in the past.

LHRybrid100 -

I grew up in the Brooky area mate, would you be able to provide an addy for the Sandblaster your talking about; I'd like to get a quote?

Thanks, Simon.

[Hellspawn]

Originally posted by Tikirocker


I grew up in the Brooky area mate, would you be able to provide an addy for the Sandblaster your talking about; I'd like to get a quote?

Thanks, Simon.

Before I went back to Ag. Industry, used to work on $220/hr when the compressor was running for blasting and $65/hr for painting. Thinners was not good for the body. https://www.aulro.com/afvb/

Most charge $170/hr blasting but normally have smaller compressors so take longer than the one we had.

Firewall would take me ½hr to blast if we still had the gear, so allow up to an hour. An hour to paint.

Just on painting. If you paint the firewall with an epoxy (Joton 605), paint it twice while it's still wet as you will always miss bits first time. If you use a urethane hard coat (Joton Hard Top AS) over that should last a long time. Joton is good stuff but dear ($20/L), of better quality than dulux which is why we used it.

[one_iota]

Mark's photos:

Firewall before:

http://www.aulro.com/albums/Mark2/firewall_before.sized.jpg

Firewall after:

http://www.aulro.com/albums/Mark2/firewall_after.sized.jpg

[LRHybrid100]

Originally posted by Tikirocker
LHRybrid100 -

I grew up in the Brooky area mate, would you be able to provide an addy for the Sandblaster your talking about; I'd like to get a quote?

Thanks, Simon.

Bugger if only I had read this this morning, its around the Winbourne Ave area if thats of any help.

LRH

[Tikirocker]

Winbourne hmmm ... you wouldn't have an actual name or phone number would you mate? https://www.aulro.com/afvb/

[LRHybrid100]

I did a yellow pages search and this seems to ring a bell:

Advanced Sand Blasting & Coatings
50 Orchard Rd
Brookvale
NSW, 2100
Australia

Ph:(02) 9905 6822
Fax:(02) 9905 6923


HTH

LRH

[Tikirocker]

Ahh much apreciated bro ... sorry I thought you knew the place first hand; I'll give those fella's a buzz.

Best, Simon.