[TowerTalk] Rusty tower

[Jim Lux]

Unless you have much, much more time than money, start calling "galvanizing"
in the yellow pages.  Some galvanizing places only take nice clean stuff,
but others will take beat on, rusty stuff and sandblast/wirebrush/hot tank
it before galvanizing.  It's surprisingly reasonable (unless your time is
truly free... the folks they hire to do this unpleasant tedious work are at
minimum wage or thereabouts).  Most places will also pick up and deliver for
a nominal (few tens of $) fee (unless you're hundreds of miles away).
Galvanizers charge by the weight of what they are galvanizing (not the price
of the zinc, or anything that would make sense...nope.. they just hang the
widget from a scale and drop it into the tank...)

Expect to spend some time calling around.. there IS a difference between
places, and they all have their specialties..  Some have a limited length
tank, and can't dip something like a 40 foot I-beam, and others can.

By the way, the whole process is one of those "furnaces of hell" sort of
things.  Quite impressive if you've never seen a huge pit full of molten
metal.

Jim, W6RMK.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Van Fair" <giw at bellsouth.net>
To: <towertalk at contesting.com>
Sent: Saturday, December 18, 2004 7:48 PM
Subject: [TowerTalk] Rusty tower


I am ready to start the project of restoring an old Hy Gain  HyTower. It has
a number of surface rust spots on about 30% of the galvanized surface.
Anyone have experience in removing the rust and know a better way than the
Steel brush. Any suggestions on what to paint it with all over once the rust
is gone. Thanks for your help.    Van W4GIW