How to galvanize rust on a car with your own hands
Content
To repair a small area (a rusty spot), one “finger” battery is enough. But be sure to take a saline one, in which the body is made almost 100% zinc.
Galvanizing the car is carried out to protect the body from corrosion and remove rusty areas. You can buy a special composition or use acid and a battery. Let's figure out how to galvanize rust on a car yourself.
How to galvanize rust on a car yourself
For self-galvanizing a car body, two methods are used:
- Galvanic. The connection is fixed on the surface of the car using electrochemistry.
- Cold. A zinc-containing agent is applied to the rust-damaged body coating.
The first method is preferable, because zinc forms the most dense film only under the influence of electricity. Cold galvanizing is easier to carry out, but subsequently the body becomes unstable to mechanical damage.
In the garage, it is very difficult to completely restore the car body with your own hands. Most often, the damaged area is galvanized locally. Typically, thresholds, car fenders, bottom, wheel arches or point damage are treated.
Zinc is used to restore the body, because it is inexpensive, does not corrode and is highly durable.
How to galvanize rust on a car yourself
Work steps and materials
Galvanize only in a well-ventilated garage, or even better outdoors. To use the most affordable galvanic method, you will need:
- battery as a source of zinc;
- piece of cotton wool or cotton pad;
- electrical tape and a piece of wire with a "crocodile";
- orthophosphoric acid;
- any metal degreaser;
- soda.
To repair a small area (a rusty spot), one “finger” battery is enough. But be sure to take a saline one, in which the body is made almost 100% zinc.
The whole process of removing a small area of rust takes a maximum of half an hour:
- Remove the film from the battery, remove the graphite rod and all the insides.
- On the positive side, wind the wire and secure it with electrical tape.
- Close the end of the battery with cotton wool and wind the tape again.
- Connect the "crocodile" on the other end of the wire to the car battery terminals.
- Degrease the treated area.
- Soak the cotton wool well with acid and lean it against the rust. You will immediately see how the reaction proceeds.
During manipulations, a galvanic couple is formed, in which active zinc forms a dense film on the surface. Moisten the cotton wool with acid as often as possible so that the layer is thicker.
There are often reviews on the forums that it is not necessary to clean the rust. Yes, she herself will leave literally after two minutes of exposure to rusted metal. But in this case, the zinc coating will lie badly.
Acid for car galvanizing
Phosphoric acid is best suited for galvanizing. It acts as an electrolyte, copes with rust deposits, oxides and prevents their subsequent formation.
If you are processing a large area of the body, then to speed up the process, you can pre-dissolve a sheet of zinc weighing 100 g in 100 ml of acid.
Possible Mistakes When Galvanizing Rust
Under all conditions of galvanizing, a light silvery durable film is formed on the surface. If she darkened:
- or rarely soak a cotton ball in acid;
- or brought the negative side of the battery too close to the battery.
Another mistake is to forget to degrease the metal before the procedure. Zinc will still form a film, but it may break down after a year. Degreasing increases the life of the body and prevents the appearance of rust when peeling the paintwork.
