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Registered
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Sandton, South Africa
Posts: 916
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Hot dip galvanizing will warp sheetmetal.
Take the parts off, have them sandblasted by someone who has experience in body panels (sandblasting can warp these too!), and then have the parts electroplated with zink.
This is a cold process, but as good as hot dipping imho. You can probably do this at home, but why bother - it's really cheap to have professionally done. Did my bumpers, bumper brackets, anti-roll bar, hood, fenders, replacement sheetmetal, and various other bits for less than $50.
It's a nice idea to have any parts that won't be painted, passivated after electroplating (turns them yellow, not unlike cadmium plating).
Electro-plated zink, leaves a slightly rough surface, which I found to be excellent for primer adhesion after very light wet-sanding with 600 grit.
Be mindfull to chemically clean any plated surfaces properly before applying paint though - I used a phosforic acid based cleaner for this that I got from my paintshop.
Cheers!
Willem Fick
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'70 911T (AKA Bottomless Pit) - Undergoing restoration
'13 Audi A4 1.8T - Surprisingly fun means of getting to work
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