Galvanising on top of electro-plating?

[Northwards]

Hi guys,

I bought one of those cheapy towbar steps - you know the sort of thing - mount behind the tow ball, with two slatted steps on each side of the ball.

I had one years ago and it rusted badly. The advert for this one specifically said ‘hot dip galvanised’. It quite clearly is not, I think it’s a silvery yellow coloured electro plating or similar. I guess the seller is hoping that many punters just won’t know the difference.

I can send it back - it’s all wrapped up and labelled - but with the Royal Mail the way it is who knows when it would arrive and I’d get my money back.

So my question is whether I could get it galvanised locally? Would the galv ‘take’ onto the electro plating or would a lot more prep be needed? If that’s the case it can go back where it came from. If it’s just a case of dipping it in the tank then that might be easier all round.

Anyone know?

(As a ‘ps’ - I’m fairly new to this forum, and do try and put questions in the right place. This doesn’t really seem to me like ‘tools and fabrication’ or anything else, but it doesn’t really seem to fit that well into ‘Defender’ either. Where would you ‘old hands’ put this? Ta.)

[western]

Moved to International forum. 

[Nonimouse]

Sounds like it's been anodised. Not uncommon. Some anodising is very good, some not.

If it was me, I would see how it goes. It's a simple thing to remove. Give it a winter, look at it in the spring. If it's rusty, rub it down a tadge and take it to the galvinisers.

I was given a saw bench a few years ago, with a chainsaw mount. It's really useful, but I keep it outside year round, just greasing up the moving parts. the PO did the same. It's anodised, not galvinised. I recon it's been outside twenty years. Rust is just starting to show, so in a couple of years, I'll either pain it or get it galvanised.

[Northwards]

Thanks - I could take a picture, but it's still all wrapped up while I try and decide what to do. I don't think this is 'very good' anything.

Knowing our road conditions in the next few months I was just trying to avoid the 'rusty' stage completely and go straight to galv. I think 'outside' would be OK, but bathed in salt water is different. I can tell just by looking at it that this will rust badly. I once had a tourist walk past my car while in a queue for a ferry. He looked at the back door and asked: "what did you do to that? Wash it in salt water?" - and it occurred to me that's precisely what does happen up here for three or four months of the year. We saw the first gritter about 3 weeks ago, and that will be the position on and off till about March or April depending on the weather. 

 

[Nonimouse]

1 hour ago, Northwards said:

Thanks - I could take a picture, but it's still all wrapped up while I try and decide what to do. I don't think this is 'very good' anything.

Knowing our road conditions in the next few months I was just trying to avoid the 'rusty' stage completely and go straight to galv. I think 'outside' would be OK, but bathed in salt water is different. I can tell just by looking at it that this will rust badly. I once had a tourist walk past my car while in a queue for a ferry. He looked at the back door and asked: "what did you do to that? Wash it in salt water?" - and it occurred to me that's precisely what does happen up here for three or four months of the year. We saw the first gritter about 3 weeks ago, and that will be the position on and off till about March or April depending on the weather. 

 

It's not so much the salt as the foul air blowing in from industrial England 😆

I get your point.  Who did you buy from. Some of the bolt on companies get stuff made in Poland, and it's not bad at all. Some stuff comes form Turkey and it's appalling..

[bishbosh]

The answer to your question is definitely no.

The galvanizing process forms a metallurgical bond between the zinc and the steel which is why it is so effective. Having something in the way would prevent this. If you want it galvanised then get it blast cleaned first or ask your local galvanisers if they can prep it

[steve b]

I know the step you have, it's zinc plated with gold passivate. It will galv. fine. 

Steve

[Northwards]

Thanks very much to you all.

Nonimouse - I think it was an ebay seller, not LR specific. It's a generic towball step. My previous experience led me to search for a galved one, and this was clearly listed as "hot dip galvanised". The seller has said he was simply following his own supplier's wording - but that's too much of a cop-out in my opinion. 

But - every day is a school day. I'd never really heard of 'zinc passivating' until now. A quick google suggests it's OK, but not as corrosion resistant as hot dip galvanising.  If it will galv OK, then that's what I'll do. It's only a £30 step so I wouldn't necessarily do it for its own sake, but I have a friend who'll be taking a bunch of other stuff through for dipping, so it will be easy enough for me to throw the step into the basket. 

Thanks again - appreciate the help.

 

[Nonimouse]

1 hour ago, Northwards said:

Thanks very much to you all.

Nonimouse - I think it was an ebay seller, not LR specific. It's a generic towball step. My previous experience led me to search for a galved one, and this was clearly listed as "hot dip galvanised". The seller has said he was simply following his own supplier's wording - but that's too much of a cop-out in my opinion. 

But - every day is a school day. I'd never really heard of 'zinc passivating' until now. A quick google suggests it's OK, but not as corrosion resistant as hot dip galvanising.  If it will galv OK, then that's what I'll do. It's only a £30 step so I wouldn't necessarily do it for its own sake, but I have a friend who'll be taking a bunch of other stuff through for dipping, so it will be easy enough for me to throw the step into the basket. 

Thanks again - appreciate the help.

 

They will acid dip it prior to the galv, so if the anodising/passivated layer is carp, the acid should shift it. I'm no fan of galvanising, tbh, more of a decent etch primer, marine primer and industrial enamel kind of guy

[JeffR]

2 hours ago, steve b said:

I know the step you have, it's zinc plated with gold passivate. It will galv. fine. 

Steve

It will also repeatedly smash your shins/knees (height dependent), go on ask me how I know that, I dare you....

[Northwards]

^^^ Yeah, I know! I had one in the past, but it’s many moons ago and the bruises and memories have faded!

The back story is that I want to get rid of my NAS step. As both a tow ball, and a step it’s too high - too much of a compromise. I’ve lived with it for a long time, but now that I tow less often I’m planning to fit a 2” receiver hitch. That way I can quickly mount the step and/or tow ball onto the drop plate when I need them, but for the rest of the time I can have nothing, and I have less stuff hanging down below the car. 

I am a fan of galving I have to say. The NAS step itself was done at the same time as the bulkhead - ca. 2008 - and then the ‘Dinitrol guy’ took an executive decision to treat that too. Mine is still bombproof really, but a mate’s untreated and powder coated one has crumbled away. 

[Happyoldgit]

I still like the OE fold down rear step. Flip down when needed and up when you don't.

[Snagger]

I think galvanising over electro coated steel would adhere poorly and may not act sacrificially in the normal way.  I think the coating would have to be blasted or acid dipped for removal before hot dipping.  In which case, you may as well use the step as is, perhaps etch washed and painted, and see how it stands up before taking it to the galvanisers - if they are going to do the same steps (no pun intended) for preparation whether it’s rusty or not, you might as well try it out now.

[Mossberg]

I think your best option is to ring the galvanisers and ask. They should be able to tell you one way or the other end also tell you if they would reject it! I believe they can sometimes be fussy about what goes into the bath due to potential contamination. 

I know what you mean about preferring galvanising as it gets into all those places you sometimes can't access well for paint.

[miketomcat]

Another point to note is most galvanizers have a minimum quantity. It'll be considerably more than the step, so unless you have other stuff to do or know someone you can make a batch with it won't be worth it.

Mike

[steve b]

1 hour ago, Snagger said:

I think galvanising over electro coated steel would adhere poorly and may not act sacrificially in the normal way.  I think the coating would have to be blasted or acid dipped for removal before hot dipping.  In which case, you may as well use the step as is, perhaps etch washed and painted, and see how it stands up before taking it to the galvanisers - if they are going to do the same steps (no pun intended) for preparation whether it’s rusty or not, you might as well try it out now.

....it's just a cheap step, not a vital piece of engineering steel. 

All galvanising is acid dipped prior to hot dip as part of the process.

Steve

 

 

[ThreePointFive]

9 hours ago, Happyoldgit said:

I still like the OE fold down rear step. Flip down when needed and up when you don't.

And if you forget, it will get harmlessly pushed up out of the way off road anyway. Not like those fold down side steps that more likely fold sideways and take out the sills while they're doing it.

I was admiring what a neat solution it was just the other day. What an interesting life I lead.