Galvanising radius arms etc ?

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Originally Posted by rijidij

I get a lot of powder coating done for work, but it just wouldn't last long on the underside of a 4WD, it would chip easily with stones.
I know Gal isn't indestructible, but I like to use it where I can.

Cheers, Murray

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Even if the gal does chip, it will still protect the bare metal from rusting.

What about about the holes for the bushings. They will be coated in gal and will need machining i would almost certainly expect to restore their original dimensions. This adds a bit of work to the process . I would also be a bit worried about any inclusions (air pockets) reacting in the gal bath. This is an issue with some irons when galvanizing, should be OK, but you don't know till you test.

I would not use powder coat for impact performance, its for final appearance,radius arms are a working part. I would expect a garnet blasted surface and a couple of coats of glass flaked high build epoxy would perform. This is what is sued on dam and sluice gates etc. where they are subject to constant wear and tear from debris in the water.


Clive

To prevent gal building up in bores, coat the bore with Silastic, this will prevent the acid from reacting with the steel, and the zinc will not stick. The Silastic may burn out during the zinc dipping, but it has already done its job as an acid barrier.

Cheers,
Mick.

Of course.
I am pretty sure galvanisation will not affect the steel strength

I personally don't like galvanised steel because of potential lead poisoning (plus zinc poisoning).

Dont forget silastic on the male threads on the ends of the arms...drill holes in the rear trailing arms.
Thickness of the zinc coating tends to increase as the thickness of the section increases - you will likely end up with a fairly thick coating on the arms. The other thing to consider is that they charge by weight - radius arms will be expensive compared to the surface area coated.

I'm a big fan of galvanising myself, but I personally wouldn't dip critical suspension components without the ok of a metallurgist and probably only for a boat trailer.