Towertalk
[Top] [All Lists]

Re: [TowerTalk] USTower anchor bolts rusting

To: Grant Saviers <grants2@pacbell.net>, "towertalk@contesting.com" <towertalk@contesting.com>
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] USTower anchor bolts rusting
From: Donald Chester <k4kyv@hotmail.com>
Date: Sat, 1 Apr 2017 17:00:11 +0000
List-post: <towertalk@contesting.com">mailto:towertalk@contesting.com>
> I have found that Rustoleum paints are tough and really hold up well if
> enough is applied.  Either spray cans or spray gun applied.  For bare or
> HR steel, I start with a coat of red primer, then a coat of grey primer
> so holidays are visible, then two coats of the finish color, usually
> ...yellow for equipment. 
> I haven't tried aluminum paint in some time.  Certainly a lot cheaper
> than cold galvanizing.

If there is surface rust, Rustoleum "rusty metal" primer is designed for 
painting right on over the rust. Again, just make sure any thick or loose flaky 
layers of rust are sanded down, but don't  sand it all way to bright metal for 
best adhesion.  As I recall, it uses fish oil as a vehicle, which penetrates 
the rust and hardens just like aluminium paint does.  For bare shiny metal, use 
the regular primer.  With aluminium paint I have never used any kind of primer 
but just painted it right on the metal, whether bare or rusty.

Rusty metal primer also works well on wood, and is cheaper than good quality 
oil based primer.  I called Rustoleum and the technician agreed it should work 
OK on wood.  I got the idea from the time I accidentally dripped some onto my 
wooden porch floor and it dried for several days before I tried to remove it.  
It had actually penetrated into the surface of the wood and was very difficult 
to remove and even then left what appeared to be a permanent stain, so I got 
the idea that it would  work a primer.  I painted an exterior wall using it, 
but it may have been only slightly better than regular wood primer, in the 
amount of time it took the top  coat to begin showing signs of failure, but it 
worked at least as well.

The problem with cold-galv is that it doesn't work like real galvanising.  Real 
hot-dipped is a layer of solid zinc, adhering in direct electrical contact to 
the steel, and the dissimilar metals set up a galvanic action, in which the 
zinc sacrifices itself in a corrosive environment to preserve the steel. With 
Cold-galv, the zinc particles are suspended in the non-conductive vehicle, just 
as in any other paint, which insulates the zinc particles from the steel, 
preventing galvanic action from occurring. With aluminium paint, the metal 
particles take the physical form of a thin flake, which protects the steel by 
more thoroughly isolating it from the corrosive elements, and does not depend 
on galvanic action.

Don k4kyv
_______________________________________________



_______________________________________________
TowerTalk mailing list
TowerTalk@contesting.com
http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/towertalk

<Prev in Thread] Current Thread [Next in Thread>