Welding,cutting, painting galvanized steel

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So I got a bargin on some galvanized angle iron at the local junkyard the other day that im wanting to use for legs on a smoker im building. Now im hearing galvanized is not only dangerous to weld & cut with a torch, but also hard to paint. Any comments would be helpful.
Reply:almost everything we build is glav.  i did a project last year with 6 months of welding 3"-10"  galv pipe 40" in the air. we went though over $500 in resp cartages. you gonna need a resperator. Trust me metal fume fever sucks...bad. you can flapwheel/clean your weld joint but it's not gonna help much.I wouldn't cut it with a torch unless you just have too. it cuts like crap and it will bring the damn fire dept it's put out so much smoke and fumes. stay the hell away from the white clouds of milky stuff. They make specific galv wire, but we've never used it. we stick all the big stuff. 6010 root 7018 out. same as anything. did i mention get a resperator...a good one...yea do that. and a chop saw or portaband is really the way to cut it.
Reply:Well that confirms it.  Looks like its going in the scrap pile , thanks for the info grim
Reply:I found out that even the smallest amount left on the metal screwed with my mig welds.  Had to grind out and do it again.  Did not have that problem with stick - using that again next time.It does make bad smoke in a building if not removed - ask me how I found that out 15+ years ago!! Having said that, I don't mind working with it.  A good deal is a good deal Dave J.Dave J.Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance. ~George Bernard Shaw~ Syncro 350Invertec v250-sThermal Arc 161 and 300MM210DialarcTried being normal once, didn't take....I think it was a Tuesday.
Reply:You can get by with out the respirator if you have a good breeze and stay on the up wind side. When you weld it with 6010 you can move the rod forward and burn it off about an inch and then go back and weld that part then move forward and burn off the next inch or so. If you paint it, just wipe it down with cheap fruit vinegar and then paint it when dry. That will make the paint stick.
Reply:Originally Posted by BobYou can get by with out the respirator if you have a good breeze and stay on the up wind side. When you weld it with 6010 you can move the rod forward and burn it off about an inch and then go back and weld that part then move forward and burn off the next inch or so. If you paint it, just wipe it down with cheap fruit vinegar and then paint it when dry. That will make the paint stick.
Reply:B.B. BaileyEven for experienced welders, anything galvanized is anonly/last choice material for a designed project.Because of it inherent problems, galvanized steel is only a bargain if it's free.In asking this question: your project will be faster, safer,and easier, if you begin with clean [uncoated] materials. Opus
Reply:I weld with free galvanized on a more regular basis than i prefer.  I general grind the area around my welds to reduce the amount of galvanizing, stand up wind and use innershield on my mig.   It welds fine for the most part.  For me the free status of the metal is great for making carts and other similar items for the garage.
Reply:I weld galvanized steel on a regular basis. Milking parlors and holding pens use either hot dipped galvanized or grator shielded tubing or stainless steel.  For the last 18 years I have only used self-shielded wire AWS A5.20 E71T-14 my perfered wire is esab coreshield 15 I have tried lincolin wire, hobart wire and rebranded wire.  One wire I liked was tri-mark 123 but now all you can get is hobart 123 its not the same as tri-mark in spite of what the miller/hobart sales people tell me.  So i went back to esab where i started with 18 years ago.  I do not grind the galvanizing away just run at the wirespeed for the thickness of the metal voltage on coreshield 15 is only 15 to 17 volts for .035 and stickout is 3/8 of and inch. Don't be scared of welding galvanized steel use a respirator or have a fan blowing the fumes away.  All the companys that do dairys in this area of michigan use flux cored wire. It is a stick on a roll and you have less waste you need to go on the websites of the manufactors of product to get the right information.
Reply:Originally Posted by MilkermanI weld galvanized steel on a regular basis. Milking parlors and holding pens use either hot dipped galvanized or grator shielded tubing or stainless steel.  For the last 18 years I have only used self-shielded wire AWS A5.20 E71T-14 my perfered wire is esab coreshield 15 I have tried lincolin wire, hobart wire and rebranded wire.  One wire I liked was tri-mark 123 but now all you can get is hobart 123 its not the same as tri-mark in spite of what the miller/hobart sales people tell me.  So i went back to esab where i started with 18 years ago.  I do not grind the galvanizing away just run at the wirespeed for the thickness of the metal voltage on coreshield 15 is only 15 to 17 volts for .035 and stickout is 3/8 of and inch. Don't be scared of welding galvanized steel use a respirator or have a fan blowing the fumes away.  All the companys that do dairys in this area of michigan use flux cored wire. It is a stick on a roll and you have less waste you need to go on the websites of the manufactors of product to get the right information.
Reply:Just a helpful tip for anyone that comes across this thread at a later date.  If you are unfortunate enough to get sick from too much inhalation, I believe that drinking milk is the cure.  Maybe someone can back me up on this?  I used to work for a company that did mostly highway fencing work and guardrail and it was all galvanized.  Did a job for a friend on his new free stall barn a month ago and have been lucky enough to never get sick.
Reply:All good info above.1. The fumes are dangerous and stay away from them. Went to the ER on my first welding job due to suck *** employer did not provide me with proper safety equipment.2. I welded on truck bodies for 15 years that came in primed over galvaneal. Used .035 solid wire on CO2. As mentioned above, there is a skill involved stoke forward to burn away the layers then back to penetrate. Flux core was much worse here.3 Galvanized is the best non corrosive coating you can get compared to just painting steel. I would take advantage of this and buy some galvanized spray paint just where you weld at.4. Galvanized is conductive and will strike an arc easliy. If you can stick it with a small fan may be the best.5. With the price of any steel, I would be glad to have such a stockpile. Ship it to me maybe....6. Unless you are going for an automotive finish, paint will stick okay, clean it good first.Good luck!
Reply:P100 respirator is supposed to protect against the fumes. You don't need organic vapor or whatever--just particulate--because, as I understand it, the vaporized zinc immediately oxidizes and forms a white powder that can be filtered with a particle filter. Alternative is to set up a box fan blowing over the work piece and stand upwind. Kind of a pain moving the fan for each weld, but better than fume fever. Still, the respirators aren't that expensive and are cheap insurance, if a little unwieldy.BTW, box fan is obviously not an option if doing a gas-shielded process, but you shouldn't really be doing gas-shielded on galvanized anyway, I don't think, because you need the flux to help clean the weld.Last edited by joshuabardwell; 04-17-2013 at 10:25 PM.
Reply:Originally Posted by DomantoriJust a helpful tip for anyone that comes across this thread at a later date.  If you are unfortunate enough to get sick from too much inhalation, I believe that drinking milk is the cure.  Maybe someone can back me up on this?  I used to work for a company that did mostly highway fencing work and guardrail and it was all galvanized.  Did a job for a friend on his new free stall barn a month ago and have been lucky enough to never get sick.
Reply:Originally Posted by SquirmyPugDrinking milk won't help..Been there, done that. Don't know why people started saying that it helps.
Reply:Originally Posted by SquirmyPugDrinking milk won't help..Been there, done that. Don't know why people started saying that it helps.