I am in the process of quoting a high end railing. I was looking through the book Forged Architechtural Ironwork, by Peter Parkinson. He talks about getting a zinc spray on work, the way he describes this it sounds like spray welding. It apparently leaves a smoother finish than hot dip galvanizing. I have friends who hot dip a fair amount and I know they spend a lot of time cleaning up galvanizing before paint.

I am having a hard time finding someone who can do this work so I can get a quote and do the job if I get it. Should I be trying shops that do spray welding for metal buildup? Does anyone have a source in Ontario? Has anyone on here used this process?

You might want to consider powder-coating as an option, and looking for a company near you that applies powder-coating as a service.

You can do it with these. Magnum System

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If you buy, tell em Frosty sent ya and they'll probably only double the price.

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Frosty

I am in the process of quoting a high end railing. I was looking through the book Forged Architechtural Ironwork, by Peter Parkinson. He talks about getting a zinc spray on work, the way he describes this it sounds like spray welding. It apparently leaves a smoother finish than hot dip galvanizing. I have friends who hot dip a fair amount and I know they spend a lot of time cleaning up galvanizing before paint.

I am having a hard time finding someone who can do this work so I can get a quote and do the job if I get it. Should I be trying shops that do spray welding for metal buildup? Does anyone have a source in Ontario? Has anyone on here used this process?

I have a lot of stuff hot-dip galvanized. And while it is there, I have them prime it with epoxy and topcoat with urethane. It is far cheaper for me to pay them, than to clog up my shop, and have no other work being done, while paint dries, plus they garantee the finnish for twenty years, which is a huge selling point.

Powder coat does not offer nearly the protection of hot dipped zinc and arroud here, costs more.

Spray metal for buildup cost upwards of $100 per pound for the powder alone, nevermind labor, fuel and profit.

not sure spray metal and the stuff we used is the same but it was NOT smooth more like sandpaper really rough sand paper......Think the product was "flame spray" and you could pick the coating ie. stainless,zinc and nickel. again very costly and not smooth.

Thanks guys. I spoke to a smith today who hot dips most of his outdoor work he mentioned that he had this done on some work because it could not go in the galv tank. He mentioned a rough finish as well and that it hid detail more than the hot dip. The whole reason I was interested in the spray was to have less detail hiding.
I don't think either of the galve shops around here paint as well but I will check. Subbing out the paint is something I will do if I can. There are some small body shops around my shop that I will go visit if the job is a go. I don't want to go powder coat for all the reasons above. Most of the guys I know who's work I admire who have had outdoor railings powder coated have later regretted it.