should i hot galvanize the chassis
Discussion
Fellow TVR owners! greetings from Iceland.
iv´e got a chim 400 (soon to get a turbo) that i am slowly restoring and i´m having trouble with rust and the powder coat is next to useless in all the salt that´s here all year round. My question is, has anyone tried to hot galvanize the chassis? i have heard that the chassis can deform but i´ve never got an answer that it will or that it wont and it is bit exspensive to just have a go at it and wish for the best.
a curb attacked me thats why the exhaust is bent and has a couple of scratches
don´t know why it has uploaded sideways
iv´e got a chim 400 (soon to get a turbo) that i am slowly restoring and i´m having trouble with rust and the powder coat is next to useless in all the salt that´s here all year round. My question is, has anyone tried to hot galvanize the chassis? i have heard that the chassis can deform but i´ve never got an answer that it will or that it wont and it is bit exspensive to just have a go at it and wish for the best.
a curb attacked me thats why the exhaust is bent and has a couple of scratches
don´t know why it has uploaded sideways
Edited by steino6 on Sunday 22 May 23:34
I cannot answer your question but if I was asking, I would talk to the experts who produce the chassis.
http://www.rtracing.co.uk/content/tvr-chassis.html
http://www.rtracing.co.uk/content/tvr-chassis.html
There are some people looking to do (or have done?) this on the Griff area. I believe the wisdom is that it should be OK as long as the chassis has not been bent and then straightened. Also some holes to drill, but better to see the threads.
Try talking to Pete Mac , I know he is working down this route but not sure how much progress he has made.
Try talking to Pete Mac , I know he is working down this route but not sure how much progress he has made.
Edited by Rob_the_Sparky on Monday 23 May 13:03
I've seen a few threads on here over the years where full hot dip galvanization has been used, in all cases holes where drilled but no cases of distortion have been reported.
Odin Verpoorten of Verpoorten Technik Automotive in Hungary has certainly hot dipped a number of chassis' without issue.
The drilling of holes to allow the hot gasses trapped inside the chassis tubes escape is essential, and if you don't want to wait months for the zinc to be ready for the primer coat you'll need to use some sort of mordant solution like "T Wash" or it'll peel and fake off in no time. Other than these key elements of consideration it seems pretty clear there's little or no issue hot dip galvanizing a TVR chassis, however if you're not comfortable drilling your chassis the process of hot zinc spraying offers 90% of the protection without all those the holes.
You'll still need to use the mordant solution to age the zinc before priming/painting or powder coating so no difference there, but given barrier protection is being achieved by your top coat do you really need to use the hot dip method and introduce all those holes?
Remember galvanization works as a sacrificial surface coating, IE the zinc corrodes first so it doesn't even start to work until your top coat (paint or powder coat) becomes breached, if you use a decent acid etch primer followed by an epoxy mastic wet paint system it'll be 20 years minimum before any galv (however you apply the zinc) even comes into play. At which point the hot zinc sprayed chassis will easily last further 20 years.
So personally I'd avoid all the hole drilling, get the chassis blasted then hot zinc sprayed immediately after blasting to avoid any early surface corrosion (however light).
After that it's a case of washing the chassis with a mordant solution, rinsing with cold water, thoroughly drying off, spraying with a good quality 2k acid etch primer follower by 3 coats of epoxy mastic paint applied in 3 alternating colours so you can easily observe (and tough up) any failure of each coat in years to come.
I'd be pretty confident after that lot you'd enjoy a good 30 years of hard service from the chassis before any issues, and probably a lot longer than that. Scratches and chips are the achilles heel of any barrier type surface protection system, so a set of outrigger protectors that shield the most vulnerable areas of the chassis have to be a good idea too.
Odin Verpoorten of Verpoorten Technik Automotive in Hungary has certainly hot dipped a number of chassis' without issue.
The drilling of holes to allow the hot gasses trapped inside the chassis tubes escape is essential, and if you don't want to wait months for the zinc to be ready for the primer coat you'll need to use some sort of mordant solution like "T Wash" or it'll peel and fake off in no time. Other than these key elements of consideration it seems pretty clear there's little or no issue hot dip galvanizing a TVR chassis, however if you're not comfortable drilling your chassis the process of hot zinc spraying offers 90% of the protection without all those the holes.
You'll still need to use the mordant solution to age the zinc before priming/painting or powder coating so no difference there, but given barrier protection is being achieved by your top coat do you really need to use the hot dip method and introduce all those holes?
Remember galvanization works as a sacrificial surface coating, IE the zinc corrodes first so it doesn't even start to work until your top coat (paint or powder coat) becomes breached, if you use a decent acid etch primer followed by an epoxy mastic wet paint system it'll be 20 years minimum before any galv (however you apply the zinc) even comes into play. At which point the hot zinc sprayed chassis will easily last further 20 years.
So personally I'd avoid all the hole drilling, get the chassis blasted then hot zinc sprayed immediately after blasting to avoid any early surface corrosion (however light).
After that it's a case of washing the chassis with a mordant solution, rinsing with cold water, thoroughly drying off, spraying with a good quality 2k acid etch primer follower by 3 coats of epoxy mastic paint applied in 3 alternating colours so you can easily observe (and tough up) any failure of each coat in years to come.
I'd be pretty confident after that lot you'd enjoy a good 30 years of hard service from the chassis before any issues, and probably a lot longer than that. Scratches and chips are the achilles heel of any barrier type surface protection system, so a set of outrigger protectors that shield the most vulnerable areas of the chassis have to be a good idea too.
I'm using rubber grommets.
i was also advised to leave all the open threads to aid drainage, but blank of any blind threads of which there are two for the hand brake.
also make sure the suspension and steering rack brackets have a hole to avoid trapping any air.
i was also advised to leave all the open threads to aid drainage, but blank of any blind threads of which there are two for the hand brake.
also make sure the suspension and steering rack brackets have a hole to avoid trapping any air.
Edited by Discopotatoes on Tuesday 24th May 23:38
Discopotatoes said:
I'm using rubber grommets.
i was also advised to leave all the open threads to aid drainage, but blank of any blind threads of which there are two for the hand brake.
also make sure the suspension and steering rack brackets have a hole to avoid trapping any air.
That all sounds perfect Rich, what a great job i was also advised to leave all the open threads to aid drainage, but blank of any blind threads of which there are two for the hand brake.
also make sure the suspension and steering rack brackets have a hole to avoid trapping any air.
Will you be using a mordant solution like T-Wash to pacify the zinc?
Then what's your plan for priming & top coating?
Ref the picture showing the air escape holes. My structural engineering experience tells me they'd be better positioned slightly away from the welded ends of the members (say15-20mm) since this is where the stresses tend to congregate and the weld is the likely weak point..... just saying....
....that said, I'm sure it's fine since the chassis will have quite a bit of redundant strength.
....that said, I'm sure it's fine since the chassis will have quite a bit of redundant strength.
Edited by latham91 on Wednesday 25th May 16:20
ChimpOnGas said:
Discopotatoes said:
I'm using rubber grommets.
i was also advised to leave all the open threads to aid drainage, but blank of any blind threads of which there are two for the hand brake.
also make sure the suspension and steering rack brackets have a hole to avoid trapping any air.
That all sounds perfect Rich, what a great job i was also advised to leave all the open threads to aid drainage, but blank of any blind threads of which there are two for the hand brake.
also make sure the suspension and steering rack brackets have a hole to avoid trapping any air.
Will you be using a mordant solution like T-Wash to pacify the zinc?
Then what's your plan for priming & top coating?
Edited by Discopotatoes on Thursday 26th May 01:29
k,, it's all that holds the glass on the building,,, 30 floors high or more, 
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