BillyBones Posted February 2, 2018 Share Posted February 2, 2018 I am most likely not the first to ask this but a look through the forums even a google search with the iforgeiron tag did not get me an answer so here goes. I had a friend give me a bunch of 1/2 square bar stock. It is all zinc plated. Can i : A) just grind a couple .001s off to get to good steel.? B)use a chemical stripper? (I aint scared of using acids, been doing it a long time)(and if so any suggestions?) C) just take it to the scrap yard and get some decent steel in trade? Also sorry if this is the wrong place to post this, just seemed the most logical. actually the most logical is the section for zinc and coatings. I will relocate it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Coke Posted February 2, 2018 Share Posted February 2, 2018 Greetings Bill , PYA ... Use it in your garden to hold your tomatoes up. Forge on and make beautiful things Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daswulf Posted February 2, 2018 Share Posted February 2, 2018 Either strong vinegar like agricultural stuff or muriatic acid cut a bit with water. I use the second then neutralize in baking soda and water mix. It all depends on lengths and container sizes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Scan-D Posted March 6, 2018 Share Posted March 6, 2018 i'll occasionally use a zinc plated stock. if its square, i take a flap disc to it on all sides. if its round stock i either flap disc or put a heavy twisted wire wheel to it on the grinder. After either prep, ill toss the shorter pieces into the fire pit in the back yard (as long as theres no wind) and cook off anything that I may have missed prior to forge heating the stock. I had a run in with fume fever, and I'll avoid plated stock 99% of the time. if you really must use plated stock, get the plating off as best as you can. Daswulf's muriatic acid bath is a good idea also, Ive done that also, but try to do that outdoors in fresh air to avoid fumes from that process. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted March 7, 2018 Share Posted March 7, 2018 When you grind the zinc coating you are putting zinc dust into the air. It then settles on everything and is stirred up by wind currents and air borne again. Even walking through the area is enough to get it stirred up. Burning the coating off is vaporizing the zinc which then settles down on everything. With no wind it settles down close to where it was burned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc1 Posted March 7, 2018 Share Posted March 7, 2018 Galvanized square stock has it's uses. You may want to make a gate or a window grill one day. Keep it to build something and use it as it is, no grinding nor stripping or forging. Buy black steel either new or from the scrapyard to forge. There is no point in adding work to undue what is a valuable resource. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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