Metallisation Flame Spray process

[Toledo Man]

This was featured on pages 78 & 79 of the Spring 2011 edition of the mag. Basically the process involved spraying metal to bridge rust holes.

Has anything further come of it? This would be very useful in saving rare panels (such as Triumph Dolomite outer front wings), sealing welded seams and rust proofing panels.

[m.thaddeus]

Hello There

Sorry I dont have any new info, but as an aside. I have a book dating from the 40s which shows a system for applying lead using a flame powered gun. It was a cross between an Oxy-Acetylene torch and a soldering iron. Bet those fumes were real nasty.

[toyotalover]

It was in one of the other classic magazines recently as well. They repaired some panels with it.

[mark912]

I am not over keen on these new super wounder products..

if it's got a hole due to rust.. cut it out weld in new.

Simples and that's coming from some one under 40

[JPB]

I am not over keen on these new super wonder products..

if it's got a hole due to rust.. cut it out weld in new.

Simples and that's coming from some one under 40

The young bloke has a fair point methinks.

[Toledo Man]

This is an alternative to welding. It is literally filling the holes with new metal. I don't know how much it would cost. I'm sure it would work out cheaper than paying for welding. It looks easier to master as well.

[arceye]

I've used this process back in the eighties when I was serving my time for coating steel fabrications as an alternative to hot dip galvanising. I can't see any difference so it isn't really anything new, rather just a slightly different use from the original.

It has some good points, providing the metal is clean and rust free it will be an excellent protective coating, it will cover pitting and bridge small holes like filler without the down side of cracking or bubbleing up later. As an alternative to welding though it can never have the strength of welded repairs, as zinc is really pretty soft, but I don't think (I hope not anyway) it was really being suggested as an alternative to welding, more a finishing filler for already sound (or lightly degraded cosmetic) panels.

Downsides if used for cosmetic work I would imagine would only be those associated with galvanising in that zinc does not like to hold paint, easily overcome with correct prep and etch primer though.

[Toledo Man]

It can be used with metals other than zinc. It is really an alternative to filler. I'd sooner have zinc alloy rather than P38 in my panels.

[arceye]

It can be used with metals other than zinc. It is really an alternative to filler. I'd sooner have zinc alloy rather than P38 in my panels.

Definately.

More like a modern day lead loading and rust preventative measure to my mind, would be very worthwhile up here on the far North coast where you can watch things rot......... 8 - 10 year old cars are b*ggered never mind the 30 - 60 year old classics I play with. Just that being suggested as an alternative to welding has me picturing intrinsically worm eaten cars being "restored" with the stuff, to that end it would not prove to have any more strength than fibreglass.

[Metallisation]

Hi to the forum.

First things first, I work for the company that make the equipment to apply these coatings. I'm not here to do a hard sell and will try to be impartial with my comments. The main reason for posting is to correct a few 'myths' that have crept into the thread. If anyone wants to know more, then you can find us on the web and we're happy to chat through with anyone. If the equipment is not suitable for you or too expensive, we can point you towards a couple of people already doing the work.

OK, on to the mythbusting. It is not a new, super wonder product. The process was patented around 1916. Our company started in this industry in 1922, selling the first versions of the type of system shown in the article. We made our first own design of this product in 1936. So it's not a new process and has been dabbled with for panel repair for decades. It's just been promoted better recently. It's not a wonder cure for everything, but does have its place.

It is not an alternative to welding and does not have the strength of welded metal or welding in a panel. However, it is proving successful in filling peppered holes and larger holes when reinforced. I believe that it is circa 3-4 time quicker than welding in a panel but there will be some variation on that dependent on skill levels. It is an alternative to filling with P38 type fillers.

Re the comment about issues with getting paint to stick to it, similar to hot dip galv. This is not the case. Metal sprayed zinc is slightly porous and actually provides a good key for subsequent paint coats. It's long been used in industry as a base coat for paint top coats from street furniture and childrens playgrounds up to off-shore oil platforms.

I believe it is also being used for seam sealing and also for complete coatings of panels. Compared to hot dip galv, it is a cold process. Hence when you spray a panel, you don't get heat distortion. To give some balance to this comment, you do need to blast the surface clean and produce a profile for the zinc to grip to. This takes some skill and knowledge to master the blasting of a large area without distorting the panel but it is acheivable. Also, hot dip will flow into areas wheras metal spray is a line of sight process. I'm not rubbishing hot dip galv, but as with many things in life, there are some applications that better suit one process over another. We often send people who contact us with tech questions about our process to galvanisers if it is a more suitable solution for their application.

Hopefully the above is of use.