Protective coating for storage of galvanised items

[Gareth0123]

Shortly I will have some freshly hot dip galvanised fabricated items of stock that are approx 2 metres long which I will have to store outside on a pallet.

I need a protective coating that is easily applied, will protect the galvanised items for up to 12 months, and which can be removed quickly and simply without fuss so that I can retail small batches of these items whilst looking like they were made only yesterday.

The pallet will be covered from the weather, but will allow air to circulate from below.... I have had problems in the past with stock tightly sheeted down on a pallet and condensation occurring and building up allowing corrosion to set in: obviously I do not wish to repeat this situation.

What do you suggest?

 

[overload]

is it too late to suggest holding off the galvanizing process until a year later and just coat the stock in wd40 for the waiting period?

 

[Gareth0123]

Nice idea, but I need to hold the items as galvanised items of stock available for sale.

I need to make the items (many hundreds of them for an economy of scale), have them hot dipped galvanised, ready to sell and available for immediate dispatch to the customers in packs of 4/6/12/18/24, etc.

 

[Rocketman]

Two thing come to mind.

Spray grease, if new clean grease is fully covered the product and not disturbed nothing will rust.

Secondly I work in the injection mould business. Steel tools are sprayed with mould protection (mold spelling for USA products) when not in use to stop them rusting. This is weather proof as long as the elements are not directly hitting the coating. It would be easier to remove than grease. Often a green colour, sometimes blue from memory.

 

[awemawson]

Shell Ensis is a product specifically for this sort of thing and works well. Remove with white spirit. I keep a spray bottle of 50% Shell Ensis and 50% white spirit on my bench for newly made or dismantled things that have to stick around for a while:

http://www.moodydirect.co.uk/engineering-catalogue/shell-lubricants-tonna-ensis.pdf

 

[wristpin]

Ensis is good . Waxoyl is another possibility and also thins with white spirit as does Morris Lubricant's Ankor Wax.
From my experience WD40 would be a non starter

 

[Rocketman]

When we did a experiment at college on rust protective coatings clean grease performed better than wax oil and underseal believe it or not.

 

[Gareth0123]

I like the idea of the white spirit thinned Waxoyl. It wouldn't take much time and effort to make up a dip tank and drying rack, and if I used clear waxoyl I may not need to clean it off before pack and dispatch; just leave it on to weather and wear off naturally before exposing the Galvanise to the elements

 

[Gareth J]

What about making a sealed container for them? Like a site tool safe, an old steel oil tank could be adapted for example. By the time you are talking about building a dip tank, dipping, then possibly removing the coating, you could spend a long time making something...

..have to be curious about what it is that can't be allowed go dull?

 

[Gareth0123]

I will be launching a single new line of steel fabricated garden/grower/smallholder products in a few weeks time.
My past experience with painted items in this market, and especially the hard wearing semi-gloss paint that I used rather than a gloss paint generated the only complaints my business has ever received, so I would prefer the galvanise to look like it had been taken out of the dip tank only yesterday.

Alas, my workshop is not large enough for me to store inside a considerable amount of 2 metre long items, so they will have to go outside on a pallet for the time being, and now that I have the special needs trike frame build contract, along with the single trike that I am currently building for my charity ride in September, along with everything else that is currently passing through my doors the available space is at a premium .

 

[captain-destructo]

have you not got space for a shipping container?