Galv Coatings

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does anyone know of a way, other than grinding, to remove the galvanizing coatings on metals? i've got a few extra pipes laying around (conduit and what-not) that i want to weld up for practice, but i have become accustomed to breathing and don't want to burn my house down when the arc strikes the galv. i've also got some extra pipe (heavy guage, not sure what it's from) that woudl work well to practice on that has the coating on it. is there a magical formula or concoction that i can wipe on it to get the galv off? similar to paint and paint stripper? any ideas are accepted. i'm willing to try close to anything. it's jsut really hard to get the grinder into the threads and it's time consuming to get EVERY bit of Galv off these pipes. thanks!Andy
Reply:You can use muriatic acid (pool stores) to clean it or you can burn it off with a torch(dont breathe the smoke).There are probably other ways but those are the most common. Did you do a search for this info? There are a lot of threads about this......Galvy coatings are not the most lethal,evil, terrible thing in the world. Use reasonable precautions and just weld it. There are many here among us that have weded miles of it with no ill effect. Some others, on the otherhand, are allergic to it and have an adverse reaction. Just be careful and you'll be ok....
Reply:Originally Posted by aczellerand don't want to burn my house down when the arc strikes the galv.
Reply:Muriatic (hydrochloric) acid won't remove the zinc coating. Whether the zinc was electroplated or hot dipped onto your work pieces doesn't matter. The zinc forms intermetallic bonds with the substrate beneath.When you weld on it avoid the fumes as best you can. The fumes can cause "metal fume fever". My caution is founded in being afflicted with lung disease from working around metal fumes.Take care and have fun!! *Rick*Having just enough knowledge to be dangerous!
Reply:[QUOTE=RICK]Muriatic (hydrochloric) acid won't remove the zinc coating. Whether the zinc was electroplated or hot dipped onto your work pieces doesn't matter. The zinc forms intermetallic bonds with the substrate beneath.Rick, I had based my response on some of the answers found on this board. I have never used acid myself, always grinding or burning it off. It doesnt bother me much but I dont huff it on purpose either. I get a whiff, I get a headache, I drink milk, and then finish the project. I dont worry too much about it, but thats just me. Your post make sense to me and pretty much jives with my 35 yrs of working it. YMMV
Reply:You won't have galv. in the threads, the pipe will be hot dipped and the threads cut afterwards but welding threads is a pain anyway and of course there is still the galv on the inner wall that you will heat when welding.