I am doing a little work in the hell hole and wanted to get peoples oppinion on using 16 ga galv sheet vs 16ga steel sheet as reenforcment inside the long at the firewall joint. I am aware of the issues with welding galvanized and will sand on the coating at the weld sites.

I have both metals on hand.

Any thoughts are appreciated,

From my experiance, Galvanized steel sheet is softer then cold rolled steel, Id use cold rolled steel for anything structural.

Is there anyway to tell cold rolled from hot rolled just by looking at it? The stuffI have I bought at Home Depot a few years back and I don;t think it still has a label

Thanks,

Galvanized is harder to weld and releases toxic fumes. I would never use it, and I would never recommend anyone use it.

Oh come on now Mark... You're not a terribly angry person but I can think of a couple people you would recommend this to...

Like McMark says. Galvi releases toxic fumes (the zinc flu).

I would rather deal with the rust.

110%

I'm not trying to be difficult but don't the replacement panels that are covered in zinc paint have the same problem? Or is the paint different in some fundamental way

Just curious,

Yes some come coated with a zinc coating, but it still needs to be removed before welding. DO NOT weld metal with any type of zinc coating.

Do you remove it from the whole panel or just the area you are welding? I would think the latter but I just wanted to be sure.

Just the area being welded. I usually will grind about 3/4 of an inch in from the edge then punch my holes if plug welding. After the welding is done it wouldn't be a bad idea to scuff the rest of the panel lightly before painting just to ensure you get good adhesion. A Scotch brite pad will be enough

Thanks Scotty I really appreciate you and everyone else who takes the time to answer my posts.