I'm going to attempt some rust repairs on my ageing tin top this weekend.

I've got loads of 1mm galvanised steel sheet lying around, will this be suitable for welding if I sand off the zinc around the edges of the plate, or should I go begging to the local fabricator for some offcuts of some regular mild steel?

Cheers,
Jek

It’s best to weld the galvanised stuff outside, you’ll burn off about 5mm either side of the weld. I’ve got very sick 3 time in the past from the fumes try to get the wind blowing from behind you. A flapper wheel will take the zinc off quite easily though.

As Mr Whippy says, fumes are very nasty, wear a mask if you can

I just ground 5mm either side of the intended weld when I did my tintop sills. Little bit of white smoke and a slight headache after many hours of welding but nothing too bad..... But you do have to be careful...

I have welded quite a lot of galvanised sheet in the past but i try to stay well clear these days.

This site is worth a read Linky

An enlightening quote from one of the posters --Without the right preparations and precautions your taking the express lane to a dirt nap 6 feet under.

A short extract of symtoms.

The effects of Zinc poisioning are not very pleasent.
The systoms are :
1/ Sweet tast in mouth.
2/ The Shivers ( no matter how hard you try to stay warm you still shiver )
and finally 4/ where you vomit for a few hours.
It takes a good 24hrs to clear.

[Edited on 27-8-2009 by miikae]

Simple get some offcuts, not worth the risk... I would only bother if you had to weld say a galvanized chassis, and thus had no choice, and then I would be careful and read up on it!!...

Dan

Depends on the definition of ageing, but your car may be galvanised too.

My 1996 Calibra made in the SAAB Valmet factory in Uusikaupunki, Finland is galvanised.

Thanks for the info guys,

Think I'll play it safe and go get some offcuts, not worth the risk for the sake of a small convenience!

The car is an '91 E30 bmw. Almost 100% certain it doesn't have a galvanised chassis.

PS Didn't realise this until recently, but I really HATE rust!!! :-)

ITS NOT VERY NICE BEING POISONED
if i were you just go and buy some mild sheet its not expensive and ive had that galvanising poisoning and you really dont want it
we cut up an old water tank it was a hotwell for a boiler so it may also have been the chemicals but we used oxy acetelene cutting gear and it made us very sick
never again
hope this puts you off
Ray