Did
you know that up to 4% of the global GDP gets lose because of corrosion each
year? When it comes to installing an iron or steel fence, rust prevention
should be given special attention; the materials and methods used will have a
big and lasting impact on the endurance of your fence, stair railings, and handrails.
One
of the most effective ways of shielding against corrosion is hot-dip
galvanisation: a procedure in which the entire fence surface is put into molten
zinc, resulting in a compete coat. This acts as a barrier defence between the
metal and its adjacent environment.
The Process
Without
this kind of defence, steel tends to corrode over time due to the surrounding
weather. The degree of corrosion basically depends on the environment the
product rests in. Steel is made primarily from iron and the rust is considered
an iron oxide which emerges from the decline and oxidation reaction of iron and
oxygen, accompanied by the prevailing moisture.
Galvanisation
or sandblasting and zinc coating is immensely
powerful in safeguarding your fence because the zinc-based corrosion, which safeguards
the base metal, is extremely sluggish. A profound scratch in the surface of the
zinc will expose the underlying metal; a galvanic cell takes shape at this area,
around which the zinc corrodes but still safeguards the metal – a think known
as cathodic protection. The zinc works as an anode and releases free electrons,
forgoing its ions and protects the less active metal beneath from rusting. A
zinc coating thus enables ‘sacrificial protection’.
Other
protective options include painting or plastic coating, but they may have grave
defects if used as the single method of fortification and being used directly
to the iron substrate. When it gets damaged, these cheap quality coatings tend
towipe out, making them untrustworthy and in need of relentless maintenance.
