What composition will protect the metal from corrosion for 30 years: advice from an old welder
Ferrous metals, which include steel, tend to rust, so they need to be protected from this scourge. Which anti-corrosion coating available in everyday life is one of the most effective and durable - read on. Our subscriber Andrey will tell about it.
Chef, it's all gone!
In 2014, my wife and I bought a brand new house. Not expensive, not elite, but typical, one-story, which developers are now churning out tens of thousands for sale. The quality of such houses is mediocre, but still it is much better than buying a second home - over time we will fix everything and finish it, we have nowhere to rush ...
In the summer of the same year, they put up a fence and ordered a large shed for the yard. The canopy was made from a standard set: professional pipes and profiled sheets. The entire structure holding the canopy, as well as the fence posts and lintels, was painted with a pretty light paint. In general, they brought beauty and the work over.
But the joy from the new things was short-lived - already in the spring the fence posts, the gate frame and the canopy structure (especially in the welding places) "cried" with rusty tears. Against the background of light paint, it looked very depressing. Another jamb that crawled out was the swollen hammer paint on the front door. The developer installed the door not as a factory one, but as a “shop door”, made of the same professional pipe and a sheet of two.
In general, as my wife said - “Chef, everything is gone! Now you have to repaint yourself. " And I didn’t find the guest workers shabashnikov installing the fence and shed - their phone didn’t answer, and I didn’t know where they were. I met them when they were building a garage for a neighbor. And he found them at some other object. As a result, their trail disappeared ...
Old welder's advice and repainting
As the rust stains only increased, measures had to be taken. I decided to do everything conscientiously so as not to return to this problem for at least ten years. But I did not know how to do this, and for advice I went to my home plant to see welders (I myself am a driver at an electromechanical plant).
Described the problem. The guys debated for a long time, but they did not come to a consensus. Someone offered primers, someone anti-corrosion sprays and other miraculous means, and someone generally urged not to pay attention, since the rust will come out anyway. But an old welder intervened in the conversation. He should have been retired for a long time, but due to his high qualifications and vast experience, he worked at the plant at the age of 69.
In general, he said simply - “Do not throw money away, but clean the metal of old paint and rust, and cover it with cold zinc in two layers. Then you can paint it in any color and for 30 years the rust will not stick! " At first I thought it was some kind of folk way, but the welder added - “Sold everywhere. In the store ask for zinc / zinc rich paint or zinc / zinc rich primer, but always with a zinc content of at least 95% - anything less does not work! How to use to say? " I already say - "I have a present, so tell me so that I do everything right."
In general, he gave me a short instruction:
- clean metal from old paint / primer / rust;
- be sure to remove dust with a brush or rag;
- choose good weather so that there is no rain and sudden cold snaps with condensation for at least a day;
- cover the metal with the first layer, wait two to three hours and cover with the second layer;
- in a day you can paint with decorative paint (if a zinc-containing primer was used);
- if you follow this simple technology, you can forget about rust and corrosion for 30 years.
And so I did. Six years have passed, and there is not even a hint of rust! Then I read that cold zinc plating was invented by the Australians. Then the technology came to the Soviet Union, where it was improved and successfully used for anti-corrosion treatment of tanks, pipelines, power transmission line supports, various metal structures, transport and sea vessels. Cold zinc plating is resistant even to prolonged exposure to sea water! This is not just a surface coating - galvanic vapor is formed when zinc interacts with iron.