The Armour Archive

I have various levels of experience with various metals, mostly cold rolled mild in 16ga to 18ga. The only thing I know about galvanized is that if you heat it (weld, torch, etc) then to do so outside and wear a mask and don't breathe the zinc oxide fumes.

I have access to a good bit of galvanized, 16, 18, and 20ga.

I AM NOT INTENDING TO MAKE ARMOUR FOR COMBAT.

I am thinking of making some decorative armour pieces for house display and what not.

Is there a SAFE way to remove the galvanation from the metal?

Yes. You can burn it off, so long as it's outside and away from people. Or you can take it off chemically---there are various agents that will do it, such as vinegar, muriatic acid or hydrogen peroxide---mild acids, in other words. I suppose you could also abrade the coating away by sanding as well, though it seems a lot of work. The chemical method is probably best unless you have a very large open area in which to work, like a field or something.

See

http://forums.armourarchive.org/phpBB2/ ... galvinized

kewl, thanks.

I was wondering about the vinegar. I use it to remove mill scale from cold rolled mild, didn't know about the zinc on galvanized. I understand that the zinc is a chemical bonding process and goes through the metal not just on the outside, or at least thats what I am reading. Since I am experimenting with decorative armour pieces, I don't care about that. I just want the outside to look right and not look like, well, galvanized. hehe

I have gained access to large amounts of scrap steel and aluminum. The stainless I have access to is limited, but I have a lot of 2" x 4" pieces to work from. Its too thin for armour I believe, but I have to mic it to be sure.

The galvanized I have access to is all thicknesses, and shapes.

The aluminum is limited to pretty much 2 diamater discs, put is PLENTY thick enough for armour. I am going to experiment with those to see if I can get a decent shape cut out for lamellar. we'll see.