Preparation – First, the surface of the product must be adequately prepared. This entails the removal of all oil, grease, and soluble paints with a caustic soda tank. Sandblasting may be necessary if other finishes such as mil varnish, paint coatings or heavy rusted items exist.

First Rinse – This is a water rinse before going to the pickle tank.

Pickling – Next, the steel is pickled in an acid bath to remove scale and rust. We have an acid capacity of six sulfuric acid tanks which consists of approximately 7-10% acid solution to prepare it to be galvanized.

Second Rinse – This is a second rinse after going through the pickling process and before going to the preflux.

Preflux – Zinc ammonium chloride is used in the final flux step of the surface preparation. Fluxing removes oxides and prevents further oxides from forming on the surface of the material prior to galvanizing and promotes the bonding of the zinc to the surface of the material.

Galvanizing – Once the product is fully prepared, it is immersed in a bath consisting of a minimum of 99% Special High-Grade molten zinc. The kettle temperature is maintained at about 840°F. The material is immersed in the kettle long enough to reach kettle temperature. It is then slowly withdrawn from the galvanizing kettle and worked to remove any excess zinc.

Cooling – The galvanized material is then air-cooled.

Inspection – The most important method of inspection for galvanized material is visual. A variety of simple physical tests can be performed to determine thickness, uniformity, adherence and appearance.