FYI!!! The substance most are calling galvanize, galvanification, etc., the coating on the metal pieces, is Zinc. After 20 plus years working in Hot Dip Galvanizing, I have some knowledge of the process for "pickling" the metal to be Galvanized. We used vats of approximately 8% Sulfuric Acid to remove any rust, mill scale and, to etch the metal surface. The metal then goes into the Kettle which contains the molten Zinc with a layer of Flux (Ammonium Chloride), floating on the surface of the Zinc. As the metal passes through the Flux, the Flux adheres to the surface of the metal. After the metal has been submerged in the molten Zinc, which we maintained at 850°. It, the metal, is checked by raising it up and down in the Flux to "wash" the metal. The Flux is bridged, the surface of the molten Zinc is skimmed to remove any dirt/oxidation to produce a shiny surface. The metal is withdrawn slowly and skimmers constantly using wooden skimmers to keep impurities from the metal surface. The metal is allowed to hang in the air until the Zinc solidifies. Sorry for the lengthy post. Zinc is the coating on the metal. I've heard some people call it Galvanite, which is inaccurate. The Zinc is bright and shiny when first applied but, it will turn a darker color of Gray after exposure to the elements after a period of time. This was a crash course of Galvanizing 101 for y'alls.
I usually soak my galvanized parts in white vinegar. I will let it soak several hours or overnight to get the galvanization off. It works great without having to mess with nasty acid and dealing with those hazardous fumes. Vinegar costs about $2 a gallon at any grocery store.
I've been experimenting with vinegar on galvy. Surprising how well it works. Might try the higher concentrations..."cleaning" vinegar or the 30% stuff. But wear gloves because the black residue does not wash off your hands very easily.
If it has ANYTHING to do with metal this man knows how to build it modify it or whatever. In his earlier videos he also has some really nice wood workin projects. Keep up the great work Allen.
I have been using Muriatic Acid to removing galvanized finishes on Rigid Electrical Conduit for welding purposes for over 45 years and the welds always look great, no porosity and provides strong welds...thanks for the great information...
Use vinegar instead, it's slower, but cheaper and safe. The permanent lung damage with one sniff of HCl isn't worth the risk. It's worse then fumes from galvanized welding. If you must, always wear a respirator rated for acid. You can also wear a respirator rated for galvanized welding as well. Also have lots of baking soda available to neutralize the acid in case of spills. Several boxes. Just being outside isn't enough. I have permanent lung damage. Trust me, you don't want that. Respirators are cheap.
MarkDog are you sure you do not have brain damage? One whiff of HCL is not going to cause permanent lung damage. The human stomach produces hydrochloric acid to digest food, not good for the lungs but it is not the “nuclear waste” you try to portray it as. If you breathe a little and start to freak out take a whiff of ammonia and problem is solved. Now don’t start on me about how toxic ammonia vapors are because everyone working around farm animals has inhaled it for 100’s of years.
Mr. Anderson , if that is your real name, should be Mr. Pussy, my father worked in a plating shop his entire life. He “pickled “ the metal using HCL. For the ignorant that is a process using hydrochloric acid ( muriatic ) to chemically clean the base metal prior to plating. I was in the shop many times and breathed in plenty of fumes. He lived a long problem free life , no lung problems. I have been exposed to HCL fumes many times in college chemistry, and in my own plating shop. Still alive to school idiots as yourself, so what is your point. I responded to one comment overstating the dangers of HCL fumes. Why spread disinformation and scare people from using an effective chemical means of removing galvanize from steel. The risk from the acid is small, compared to the zinc/cadmium fumes released from welding on galvanized. Bottom line....go screw yourself moron.
@@Dixler683 As a trained chemist I can confirm this guy is telling the truth. People who never had hands on approach should really gtfo and stop spreading missinformation
Thanks for information we use a lot of galvanized roofing in the tropics an old carpenter told me about white vinegar it works too but I'll try the acid too from one welder to another Merry Christmas
The only down side to this is that you get instant rust on the parts. I use phosphoric acid to create a layer of iron phosphate which paints over very well. You can easily grind off the iron phosphate or well through it. This also works well for removing rust, especially from pitted steel. Do this out doors and stay upwind.
Been using hydrochloric acid to clean off galvanizing from metal for years. Paint don't adhere to galvanizing very well either and flakes off after a while. But if you want to retain corrosion resistance of galvanizing and still paint it, apply the acid with a brush for a minute or two and then wash down with strong mixture of baking soda and water. Rinse with clean water, allow to dry and then paint it.
An old welder at work showed me that trick twenty years ago. Muriatic Acid has been my go to ever since. Strips galvanized, zinc, cadmium and rust. Great weld prep on steel for TIG welding also. Just do it outdoors and don't stand downwind, the fumes can kick yur butt.
Muriatic acid is hydrochloric acid - same chemical formula HCL bit a weaker strength and not as pure as hydrochloric. That certainly beats the heck out of grinding and generating all that zinc dust. I think rinsing the parts in a solution of water + baking soda would neutralize the acid - it should. Adding baking soda to the waste acid makes the acid easier to dispose of safely.
In the old days we would use the used acid as a flux for soldering copper, brass or steel. They called it "killed spirits" because the zinc had reacted with the acid to form zinc chloride, a very good flux. We'd drop a few bits of zinc into the acid and wait till all reaction had stopped. Muriatic acid is a less pure version of industrial hydrochloric acid. If you use hydrochloric acid, the zinc stripping action will be faster and more 'bubbly'
The acid also cleans all the slag off steel and perfect to get ready for welding. I have various 3", 2" & 1" PVC pipes capped on one end to clean all diff sizes of rod & angle, and various plastic tubs for plate. After 20 min just hose it off and it's so clean it looks like raw stainless!!!
Wow!!! Been welding for years, but never even had a clue about that. I've used it to remove rust for home projects, didn't know it would do galvanized. A little impractical at work, but for home projects definitely yea
No need to use anything so caustic to remove the zinc. Just use plain old vinegar or citric acid. It does just as well without the danger of muriatic acid.
I'm starting a lot of handrail projects and I think I'm going to use carbon steel. F galvanized because they ain't paying me enough to breath in that crap. Also I don't have time to soak pipe. I appreciate your info dude,thanks.
@@avid0g You just do not understand heat kills acid. After 50 years of daily use I think I have some very good onsite into this on how direct heat to acid reacts. Right now all you are doing is guessing. And on very light materials you have to use a industrial heating iron and lead. This take a lot of practice. And so many times I have seen you so call experts work and it look like very bad it no slick and smooth And if it dose not have this look you are not soldering it you are just smearing it over the top. It's just like tight welding stainless steel pipe if you use the wrong gas. In a short time it starts leaking and you can peel the weld out with a screw driver.
@@theodorefreeman3173 Ok, I take your experience. Sorry. When I worked for the University materials testing Lab, I was instructed to always rinse and neutralise the surface etch solution before applying strain gauges, but there was no high heat applied afterwards.
@@avid0g Books are great but some time they hide the secrets that come from experience. But with out them it very hard to find a base to start from when one starts out. It's like as you know you can pour acid in water but you can not pour water into acid. The math dose not work in ones mind but if you do not follow the rules you could be picking glass out of ones face or some place on the body.
Also works for removing cad plating on nuts and bolts....used to build race cars and had to TIG weld nuts and bolts to steel (usually 4130) and if ever tried to TIG weld cad plated parts then you know it sucks!
This is also good for mill scale. I re use mine until it takes too long to do what I want it to. Just pour it back into the bottle it came with. The stuff lasts for weeks... just so you aren't in a hurry .
I work at a concrete plant. We use it to clean the cement off of the trucks. It want hurt plastic but it will eat aluminum up and on metal it will rust it bad.
Isn't this what Bikers used to make crank with back in the day? We used this to hang galvanized gutter back in the 80s. Then we had to sign a paper as to what we were using it for.
That sure works fast, but it would be safer and still quick if you use about 4 or 5 parts water to 1 part acid. And, add the acid to the water, not the water to acid. Makes it not get super hot and boil and splash onto you, which could happen when a little water is added to concentrated acid.
Thanks. So this can be brushed onto square galv tubing? Does it come in gel form? If not is there a way to mix into gel for it to remain on area you want de-galv? Thanks
Phosphoric acid is commonly sold as "CLR" (Calcium/Lime/Rust), "Naval Jelly", or various other bathroom mineral stain removers. Even these can cause repository damage, permanent loss of smell, etc.
My entire Jeep YJ frame has fasteners still in it from when it was dipped. (Not my doing). Any suggestions and getting the fasteners that fused to the frame during the dipping process. Underbelly bolts snapped off trying to break the chemical bond.
White vinegar works too but takes much longer. If you're willing to wait, it's a safer alternative. Don't mix muriatic acid with aluminum. It makes chlorine gas.
Also purchase some Calcium [vitamin] tablets at Walmart - they are cheap. Take a couple (40mg is the recommended daily dose) either before, or as soon as possible after, welding galvanized - even if you got it as clean as possible. Calcium will bind with the zinc (in the galvanization) and help to prevent its absorption into your body. Alternately, drink a couple glasses of milk. Calcium tablets are easy to keep in your toolbox.
wear the proper respirator for this , or don't and take your chances. I wear one with this now. Also use it well away from your tools and make sure you dispose of any rags you used with it or soon you will have fumes attacking all of you tools, it's pretty amazing how potent this stuff is. Neutralize with baking soda and water.
Good stuff and cheap. Use common sense. Store outside, vapour leakage will corrode tools, machinery etc. Use outside and downwind from you. Keep fresh water hose or in bucket nearby. Get this stuff on your hands, face or eyes and you will be thankful you did.
Allen, what do you use for your handles on the grills? Looks like a chipping hammer handle. That's what I used when I was in Alabama trade school fabricating grills.
cool thing about most acids - don't eat plastic. But metal like aluminium cans? no problem, same reason it disolves zinc(galv). Infact most acids don't touch glass either - except one....hydrofluric acid.
Hydrochloric work best. You can even solder it or braze it weld with no problem. Brush it on acid brush and let it set until it changes color. If acid is to hot drop a few small pieces of galvanize in the acid. Do not and I mean don't pour water in the acid. This is a hell of a lot easier.
I've removed galvanized coating on parts many times for assembly and welding. The best and fastest way I've found is with a white grinding wheel used for aluminum on an angle grinder. It doesn't load up like a wheel used for grinding steel. Cheers!
You know I built galvanize parts for 50 years for flour mills like 10x10 square to a 5 inch round or a 5 round to a 4 round and made smoth transitions. About any thing one could use. I layed this out bent it into shape and soldered it together. I have not seen or hear one intelligent thing here by any of you. And the heat used to get the medal hot enough to solder the heat will neutralize the acid. Just don't put the acid where you do not need it. Use 50/50 hydrochloric acid to remove coating it dose it instantly. And again the heat will neutralize it. And if the acid is to hot use very small pieces of metal to cool it down do not use water if you do it's a very good chance it will blow up in your face. This stuff is stored in a very dark brown glass container. And it will burn you I'd you get it on skin. But always use rubber gloves when working with it and eye cover. If you get it on you lots and lots of water. And never using nothing but acid brush and throw them in water when finish. It and flammable materials do not mix well do not throw them it trash until soaking them in water.
Yes. Just reverse the DC polarity to pull zinc away. The zinc accumulates on the other electrode, getting thicker. However, the zinc concentration in the electrolyte also increases, so a thin residue may possibly _return onto_ the part, depending on procedure. If the cleanest possible surface is important, you may do a final etch in a fresh batch of acid, like diluted vinegar or diluted muriatic acid. Rinse, neutralize with diluted baking soda, and rinse again with deionized or distilled water.
This is a GREAT method .. I try to grind it off and there's always some left ..... BUT?? ... All that stuff is widely available in black iron ... why buy galvanized??
here's a thought...how about removing the galvanized parts using the same exact process that it was put on with...but in reverse...electrolysis...if there is a a portion that you want off and not the entire piece just cover up what will stay
Good info, but jesus, wear some gloves, I wasn't able to read how concentrated that HCl is but judging by how violently it bubbles that is not something you want spilling on your hands...
