Run Run Away

Question:

Just crawled under Barnegate Beach township’s Suburban (used in part to patrol the beach…) and looked at the frame and running gear.   Geeze!      Gotta wonder why Detroit doesn’t offer a hot-dip galvanized frame as an option. Don’t want my baby to wind up like that….at least for the next 10-15 years… Anybody got some advice besides "Wash the underside"? Wash it how, where?    Any trouble spots that require special attention?  Any economically-rational preventative measures? Pete Cresswell

Response:

Just crawled under Barnegate Beach township’s Suburban (used in part to patrol the beach…) and looked at the frame and running gear.   Geeze!      Gotta wonder why Detroit doesn’t offer a hot-dip galvanized frame as an option. Don’t want my baby to wind up like that….at least for the next 10-15 years… Anybody got some advice besides "Wash the underside"? Wash it how, where?    Any trouble spots that require special attention?  Any economically-rational preventative measures? Pete Cresswell

        There are several "cold galvanizing" compounds on the market. One that I know of is under the brand name ZRC. It’s a rustproofing and cold galv substance. It’s kind of like a paint, only much thicker. It’s almost 100% zinc, if I recall correctly. Ten years ago it ran about $60 or $70 a gallon. You won’t find this stuff at Home Depot or Pep Boys. You need to go to an industrial supplier, like a welding supply house, or a commercial painting and finishing supplier. It’s primarily used to treat galvanized metal that has been welded. Welding burns away the galvanizing and ZRC is used to recoat the metal with a layer of zinc. It is highly toxic and if applied with a brush or roller you should be outside or at least in an extremely well ventilated area. If you use it in a spray gun you would need a high quality respirator as well as protective clothing. Let me know what part of the country you’re in, I might be able to steer you to a supplier. Bob P.S. The rustproofing and cold galvanizing products available to the general public at Pep Boys or Home Depot are less expensive but are nowhere near as effective. ZRC is a heavy duty industrial/commercial type product that is marketed to welding shops, machine shops, and factories. It’s not something that "Harry Homeowner" will be putzing around with in his driveway. P.P.S. ZRC also makes a compound that can be applied to metal that has already started to rust. It reacts with the existing rust and creates a hard black coating that inhibits further rusting. I can’t remember the name of it, though.

Response:

: Just crawled under Barnegate Beach township’s Suburban (used in part to patrol : the beach…) and looked at the frame and running gear.   Geeze!      Gotta : wonder why Detroit doesn’t offer a hot-dip galvanized frame as an option. : Don’t want my baby to wind up like that….at least for the next 10-15 years… : Anybody got some advice besides "Wash the underside"? : Wash it how, where?    Any trouble spots that require special attention?  Any : economically-rational preventative measures? : Pete Cresswell Consider saltwater to be as metal-friendly as sulfuric acid. Then work from there. Just don’t go wheelin’ on the beach if you can help it. If you do it anyway, afterwards rinse the daylights out of the underside with as much fresh water as you can afford. Best protection is abstinence!  :-) Otherwise you’re going to be seeing corrosion. Why do you think it takes so many sailors to run a ship?  It’s so there are enough bodies to do the chipping and painting! Ron Miller

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