Elan Plus 2 galvanized window and door sills

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BentleyOwner
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Joined: Sun Jan 01, 2023 8:20 pm

New sills were delivered to me by Paul Matty just now. My fabricator became busy creating stainless pieces for luxury residences, and the idea of hammer forming new ones by hand seemed impractical, so I scrapped my plans to have replacements fabricated in the United States. A few days after they appeared at Matty's, I too found the fresh ones on my shelf. (These are the revamped sills, which instead of a box portion have a tube section, making a massive press brake unnecessary.)

They are fabricated from plain steel and then hot-galvanized. At least where I looked, I couldn't find the stainless steel ones anywhere.
Anyway, I was wondering whether there would be any use in painting the zinc sills. Because of their invisibility, aesthetics are ignored. I'm aware of the challenges associated with painting galvanized metal.
I'm grateful for any feedback you may provide.
Megan_Wilson88
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Joined: Sun Aug 08, 2021 4:40 pm

To get paint to adhere to galvanized, you'll need to sand the surfaces well. Sometimes I got lucky and didn't have to do any extra cleaning or prep work before painting, but that was never the norm. Polish up that SS. I’m curious to see other people’s approaches.
BentleyOwner
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Joined: Sun Jan 01, 2023 8:20 pm

It seems like sanding would be like trying to swim against the current, and removing the zinc may potentially make things much worse.
For whatever reason, nobody appears to be making the stainless versions of these sills, which I believe were originally designed by Spydercars.I appreciate your response.
godisgreat
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Joined: Wed Jan 02, 2019 2:30 pm

If I understand correctly, the galvanized covering will wear away and expose the untreated metal below if it is not coated. It will only take more time. Porsche galvanizes its vehicles, but then paints over the zinc coating. Some advice on painting over galvanized metal may be found here: You may choose the paint color and kind at https://www.indmetalstrap.com/paint. Also, welding galvanized might be dangerous due to the presence of toxic gases.
Megan_Wilson88
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I don't sand to remove anything, simply to rough up a surface so that the primer can adhere.
BentleyOwner
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Posts: 59
Joined: Sun Jan 01, 2023 8:20 pm

Wow, I completely forgot about it. Coating, Epoxy Polyamide, 2 Quart Kit (MIL-C-22750, Revision D) $215.00
I appreciate everyone's input.
Hunger_for_love
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Joined: Tue Mar 10, 2020 8:44 pm

Even in England, I find it hard to believe that the "audience" would be big enough to warrant the cost of producing stainless steel sills. In my opinion, galvanized ones will endure longer than gasoline or diesel for internal combustion engines. If an additional exterior barrier is necessary, however, POR-15 coating might be an effective alternative. For my part, I think the galvanizing is adequate.
BentleyOwner
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Joined: Sun Jan 01, 2023 8:20 pm

Even though POR 15 isn't my cup of tea, I believe it will help keep the zinc plating safe.

Recently, I learned that the English company SJSportscars still produces and sells stainless sills. Of course, I didn't know that when I got my galvanized versions. I paid $150 for delivery, although the stainless steel sills are only approximately 30% more costly on their website (where I believe the quotation may be subject to change). https://www.sjsportscars.com/parts-and- ... 0B0002.htm
The galvanized window and door frames will have to do for now. Galvanized steel road guardrails can withstand the weather for up to a century, while the automobile will spend the most of its remaining life inside a heated garage.
Hunger_for_love
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Joined: Tue Mar 10, 2020 8:44 pm

Not sure the galvanizing is in any 'risk' of weakening very soon. Adding the POR would just serve to increase overall mass, which is neither essential nor desired.
BentleyOwner
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Posts: 59
Joined: Sun Jan 01, 2023 8:20 pm

That's not something the ACBC would support.
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