Galvanized Wire: How to Keep it Shiny?

Wow! Bernard

I don't claim to be an expert, but do you use an acid pre-flux to clean and prepare your wire before coating? A good pre-flux solution will help a lot. Also keep good quality control on the purity of your zinc, you can tolarate quite a high lead concentration, but watch out for any other impurities. Also, your wire feed stock should be low in silicon and phosphrous or you will experence problems with the adhesion and surface of you galvanised coating.

Regards

Chris

Thanks a lot Chris

doe not galvanizing work by the formation of an oxide layer on the zinc that is impervious to further oxidation?

try this resource

http://www.galvanizeit.org/

Bernard:

Why are you concerned about keeping galvanized wire shiny? HDG is intended for corrosion protection; not jewelry. The zinc oxidizes shortly after exposure to air and turns gray or dulls. I would think that the quality and thickness of the galvanizing would be more important than the ultimate color.

However, if cosmetics and shine are critical, you probably need to either consider a different plating process or a secondary bright dip plating or painting process after HDG. The galvanize would provide primary corrosion protection and the secondary process would achieve the desired bright finish. If the time over which the wire is expected to remain shiny is relatively short, aluminum addition to the galvanizing bath might work (if it is permitted by the standard to which the wire is galvanized).

If the wire is bath quenched after HDG, you might be able to improve the appearance with something other than a water quench.

Galvanized wire is supposed to get gray and dull. That shows that it is working to keep the oxide off the steel. When my customers want shiny chainmaille (which is what I use it for) I have plain 14 gauge steel wire nickel plated. Then from there it can be copper plated (to create a bunch more colours) or gold plated. If really fancy colours are desired, I will go with aluminum, and anodyze it. I don't know if it is possible to coat steel with aluminum, and then anodyze it...might work.

Customers all know that such custom plating costs big bucks. But when you consider that the labour of making that plated steel into an artistic cuirass, the plating costs pale in signicance.

I have tumbled old chain maille shirts in barrels to polish the plating, and then given tham a light coat of lacquer to keep them fresh longer. But that is a temporary solution, and is only used when I have a shirt made from patchwork squares of different levels of oxiation.

Hope this helps...I bet I am the only person on this forum who has actually dealt with this problem!

Http://www.southtower.on.ca to see more.

My daughter used to make chain mail. (when she was 13-15 years old)

She had me try to automate the process with my electric drill as a mandrel to wind steel wire on. It helped, but it was still a slow process to make much product.

I suggested she use some titanium tubing which I would roll cut on the lathe into the right sizes. The roll cutting would make one face circular so it would resemble wire. Then use some same gage titanium wire to make the joining pieces.

Titanium would be a bright and reasonably permanent finish.

it is also very costly

Yeah. I think in the future I shall see if I can get the rings punched, like washers. Drawn wire is not period to the middle ages. That means I have to find a punch press and learn the CAD to make it work.

I don't use an electric drill...but rather a special built sort of lathe. I wind the coils off of a lazy susan (which holds the coils of wire) and onto the mandrel at 1420 RPM (rings per minute). The lazy susan spins rather quickly, and I don't think I would safely be able to do this process much faster. When things unravel properly, it all goes well. But when a coil gets caught under another coil, the whole procedure suddenly comes to a halt. Sometimes tipping the lathe over. I am onto it now though, there are not many ways it can hurt me now! I usually turn a 50 pound bundle of wire into coils ready for cutting in about half to 3/4ths of an hour.

Yes, I think they probably chiseled narrow strips and rounded them with work via a hammer, then cut them to lengths.

I remember seeing some ways they made loops and connected the ends, in a museum, but I forget the details.

So you must supply a bunch of people as you cannot use that volume of rings with your own hands.

The question is authenticity. I am sure a chain mail making machine can be made if someone puts some resources into it.

apparently you can buy a lot of mail from China now, with their low cost labour

Actually India. But it is hard to get only one or two shirts...they are geared up to supply container loads. And who the hell...etc. etc.

Once the gangs know that mail shirts stop police tasers, they will create a market

I will be attending my ex-wife's wedding. A shiny chainmaille tuxedo might be an appropriate parting comment. What will it cost for a 44L with chrome cuffs?

Is chainmaille making a come back? Have I missed the origins of this chainmaille fashion trend? Is it permissible in corporate America on "casual Fridays". Will Victoria's Secret have a new line of chainmaille thongs? If a Lady wears shiny chainmaille before memorial day and after labor day, will the fashion police arrest her for fashion crimes?

Is chainmail making a comeback? Hmmm.

http://yusefsjournal2.blogspot.com/

Keeps ME busy!

My mother was a tough old bird, rest her soul, she used to knit kitchen stoves out of steel wool...:)

Sorry mate,

your'e not the only one on this forum ( at least not now ) who's had to deal with this problem, which actually led me here in the first place. I too make a bit of armour, maille and Jewelry. The reason I'm after a quick and easy way to reshine gal is that a lot of the blokes I've made pieces for love gal for it's cheapness ( ladies definitely will pay for the prettier materials ), but want an easy way to shine it up again when it tarnishes. I've done a fair bit of experimenting and research to try and find a good fix, still looking. http://www.mailleartisans.org (of which I'm a member) has some good articles but none of them quite fit the bill for what I'm after. ie a quick and easy way to reshine small gal pieces of maille. Agree totally with everything else in your post totally. Good stuff.

Hola Bernard I've worked in wire galvanized wire too; i know very weel that depending of the use o market they want very shiny wire, only for view. The matter depend of the process x eje in hot deep galavized is importante the speed cooling and distant, amont de bhat and the water;..., the better process in this cases and beside you need high layer is the gaswiping.- The wax after the galvanized is good option to mantein the shiny level for more time; but the key is how quick you cooling the Surface of the wire.- If you need some think more don't hesitate to contact me in ccvallino@hotmail.com.- thank hope to help you.-

Why not use hot tin dip coating, tin can be polished and resists oxidation much better than zinc. But if zinc is the only coating you can use try zinc plating try bright zinc plating. As follows.Zinc chloride 3oz per gallon ammonium chloride 20oz per gallon To make up the electrolyte add 6 pints of water into the plating tank (Plastic) then add the 20oz of ammonium chloride stir well until dissolved. in a second container put 2 pints of warm water add the 3oz of zinc chloride stir to dissolve then add to the previous mix.cover the tank when not in use. Mark the level in the tank before use so it can be topped up after use.use a piece of perforated zinc for the anode positive connected.Clean the pieces to be plated. Add the cleaned and rinsed items the apply the current regulate the current to between 14.4 to 28 a.s.f. use at between 15 to 25 deg c. Using the lower current will give a better finish.for very fine pieces you may need to add pieces of steel plate either side of the items as to control the plating at a steady current density. The p.H should be around 3 to 4.The bath should be run in by plating a piece of scrap steel at low current for about an hour.

See Electroplating by J. Poyner part of the Work shop practice series Number 11.

ISBN. 0-85242-862-6 Nexus special interests.

Or instead of zinc plating, you could copper plate, then nickel it.

Yes but good copper plating requires the use of a cyanide bath. Bright nickel is ok but more expensive.