restore just galvanised look

[dieselboy]

hellooooo
i wonder if anyone has any ideas on how to restore a 5yr old tarnished galvanised land rover chassis
to a just galvanised look (see pic) without re-galvanising or painting it.
ive tried silver polish, bleach, pickle, brown sauce, stainless steel cleaner, mer, brillo pad etc.
most products clean but i wish to get the surface looking like its just been done without compromising its rust preventing properties
so obviously i cant use cillit bang (or similar) as it contains galvy eating acid
any ideas!!!
many thanks in advance

[bigmini]

hellooooo
i wonder if anyone has any ideas on how to restore a 5yr old tarnished galvanised land rover chassis
to a just galvanised look (see pic) without re-galvanising or painting it.
ive tried silver polish, bleach, pickle, brown sauce, stainless steel cleaner, mer, brillo pad etc.
most products clean but i wish to get the surface looking like its just been done without compromising its rust preventing properties
so obviously i cant use cillit bang (or similar) as it contains galvy eating acid
any ideas!!!
many thanks in advance

The problem you have is that what ever you do will remove some of the zinc. After 6 months or so, it will revert to an even matt grey colour and stay that way until eventually the galvanising is gone. You will need to repeat the procedure every few months if you want to keep it bright, and you will shorten the life of the galvanising.

As long as the coating of zinc is complete and there are no thin rusty spots, I'd leave well alone. Otherwise it will need re-galvanising.

[dieselboy]

I agree with you
but 5 yrs ago (when the pic was taken) it looked so bright,
its a shame I cant get it to look that way again without re galvanising ,
 thank you for your reply

[zeusrekning]

The way it was explained to me was that the zinc was much easier to oxidize and drew the oxidation away from the steel. So when first done it will be super shiny but its job is to oxidize and therefore loose its shine. I do agree that new galvanization has a wonderful look.

[bigmini]

I agree with you
but 5 yrs ago (when the pic was taken) it looked so bright,
its a shame I cant get it to look that way again without re galvanising ,
 thank you for your reply

If you really want shiny it might be possible to further coat it with something else. Now that it's gone grey the surface should be stable. Get some advice from an expert and use the right product because the wrong product over galvanising or any product applied too soon after newly galvanising will peel off.

[dieselboy]

I agree with you
but 5 yrs ago (when the pic was taken) it looked so bright,
its a shame I cant get it to look that way again without re galvanising ,
 thank you for your reply

If you really want shiny it might be possible to further coat it with something else. Now that it's gone grey the surface should be stable. Get some advice from an expert and use the right product because the wrong product over galvanising or any product applied too soon after newly galvanising will peel off.

I was told at the time of getting things galvanised that to keep it that way  should coat every bit
in matt / satin laquer  but someone else (as you have just pointed out) said paint would peel off in notime so I didnt.

[John Hill]

I was told at the time of getting things galvanised that to keep it that way  should coat every bit
in matt / satin laquer  but someone else (as you have just pointed out) said paint would peel off in notime so I didnt.

It has always been the advice around here to 'weather' a galvanised iron roof for a year or so before painting, so that is consistent.

Maybe paint the exposed areas with something that looks like galvanising?