Protecting metal from rust - Thinking Spray-Galv?

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I'm making some 'traveling' horse panels for us. They will be stored (I hope) mostly indoors and only used as we are traveling with them. The surface rust have ALREADY attacked them in my garage. I saw a product at a local welding shop called "spray-galv' bought it and took it home. It seems cheap enough, I was just wondering what you guys thought of it?The panels I've made are collapsible ( One side slides into the other for easy storage) so I was also wondering how tough the stuff is or will it just flake off when I'm making and breaking them down camping?Any other ideas, or am I on the right track??Thanks! - JasonPS - I did search, I really did!
Reply:Never heard of that but It seems worth trying out as it's priced right.  For the money, Rusteoleum isn't bad either.
Reply:The Spray-Galv I've used is chalky and rubs off easily,  not very abrasion resistant. However, if not rubbed or wiped,  it protects for years; even when outdoors, and exposed to sun and rain.Last edited by denrep; 07-07-2008 at 01:43 PM.
Reply:What denrep said.  I've used the rustoleum Spray Galv. before and if its sprayed and given time to cure it does really well, but it's not real abrasion resistant.I'm a Lover, Fighter, Wild horse Rider, and a pretty good welding man......
Reply:Great! Thanks guys, I appreciate it! Since these will be sliding there will be areas that will rub off sooner than the rest, but, it's worth a shot... I'm outta ideas other than powdercoating (umm, kinda pricy, I think )
Reply:From personal experience and a call back on a job, I found brush on galv is FAR better than the spray on.DavidReal world weldin.  When I grow up I want to be a tig weldor.
Reply:You might go over them with OSPHO metal treatment and then paint. On a truck I used to have, I coated the metal bed that I had built, with it, and never got around to painting it. It took almost a year to start rusting.
Reply:Jason,A couple of things. The spray galv works fine. It's a brand name of whats called "cold galv". The zinc rich paint mentioned above is also a cold galv, but a higher quality. One thing to remember is the once the corrosion mechanism (rust) has started, it will not stop until it is removed. Just spraying cold galv over it will hide it for a while but it will keep coming back. It is best to remove it. A wire wheel on a grinder works the best in my experience. If it is properly cleaned and coated with cold galv it should last for 20+ years.
Reply:Thanks Qaqc and everyone else who posted! The metal is brand new from a metal shop (talk about big bucks.. lol). it has that mill stuff on it so I would sand it off clean. I went ahead and ordered some por-15 with the marine clean and metal etch. I'm really excited about trying this stuff, supposedly it makes a 'shell' around the metal and is scratch proof and about indestructable. With the metal rails sliding inside themselves, this is going to be great for me! I know it costs alot, but, so did the metal, hopefully this will be great!