Galvanized Body Options

[lsintampa]

Our BMW club has many members that own other German marks, including Porsche.

I don't know if the 914 ever had any or all of the body built with either galvanized steel and or Thyssen steel, but I think it is an interesting topic.

I read with interest a thread on this board that referenced a Pelican Parts forum post:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911...1s-history.html

However, the post is specific to the 911, not the 914 - or all Porsche models.

From what I've been told by one of our local Porsche experts - no 914's came from the factory with either galivanized or Thyssen steel bodies.

It is hard to find any information on this subject that is specific to the 914, so (for me) it remains a mystery. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/confused24.gif)

[ThePaintedMan]

Always wondered, if you went through the process of having a car acid-dipped before restoration, would there be any way to galvanize it at that point as well? I know nothing about that process, just curious.

Lsintampa, whereabouts are you located? There are a few us in in the area, you know. I'd like to get a get-together going at some point, possibly a lunch and drive. Shoot me a PM, would like to meet ya.

-George

[Madswede]

Always wondered, if you went through the process of having a car acid-dipped before restoration, would there be any way to galvanize it at that point as well? I know nothing about that process, just curious.

Well, not at the same exact time - the two are separate, but related electrochemical processes. I did a fair amount of research and reading on this topic after my car started going through the protection phase of its mild-rust-oration [EDIT/CLARIFICATION: the rust level was mild, not the restoration efforts!], and found out I really like electrochemistry. I might try to get into it more professionally some day. So sorry for the upcoming mini-lecture, feel free to skip it anyone who's reading, or jump in if I make any egregious errors. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

The acid dip removes the rusted crap form the remaining, "good" steel (at this point ungalvanized), and can even etch or rough up the steel a bit for the application of paint or other treatment later on. Of course, one such treatment could be galvanization, which is basically coating the steel with zinc. Alternatively one can use powder or paint coatings. Advantages-disadvantages exist for each, such as weight penalty of thick zinc and relatively high cost vs. the protection level after something is scraped/scratched to bare metal for paint/powder coat as opposed to no problem with zinc, and the limited life of zinc in highly corrosive environments.

Anyway, "hot dip" galvanizing is a process that puts a fairly thick coating (compared to other alternatives) of zinc all over the steel body. It acts as a sacrificial anode to prevent the steel from rusting, so it doesn't necessarily need to "coat" all the steel, just be in physical contact with it. It also will eventually, given enough time, go away and expose the steel to rusting, depending on how much zinc was put on there and the conditions the steel is exposed to (salt, salt water, etc).

Electroplating is another method for putting zinc on steel. (There's also eletrodepositing, but that's more for applications that only need a few atoms' depth of deposited zinc, like in semiconductor industry). I've read that some modern automotive applications use electroplated steel steel for some body exteriors, but that wouldn't be very practical with a monocoque chassis, obviously.

Zinc plating/coating is good for keeping steel parts from rusting for a while, especially in the desert dry where I live, plus it makes 'em look purty n shiny and all. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/shades.gif)