Galvanised Strap Hinges

[niall Y]

I've just rehung my workshop door with a pair of these. They were purchased as hot dip galvanised, but I'm not so sure.

Firstly, they are very shiny, secondly there is a fair bit of weld spatter that has not been cleaned off. What alerted me to the possibility that they might not be what they seem, was the fact that there were silvery deposits in the housings for the pins when I took them off to deepen the housing. Here they were in contact with the stain I had applied earlier

I tested the hinges with acetone and am consistently, getting grey deposits, on the rag. This is not the case when I tried it on a new roll of stock fencing or on a BZP bolt. So , the jury is now out as to what the coating really is..

 

[Myfordman]

I reckon they are fake. you could clean off the coating a electroplate them with zinc. bound to be a recipe on the net and youtube

 

[Spectric]

Buy from an agricultural outlet whose main customer base are farmers and they tend to sell decent products like these. I have seen quite a few shinny galvanised brackets and gate pins before so not an immediate concern.

 

[johnnyb]

They may be galv as the weld spatter is actually bits in the molten zinc. The more expensive galv the less crud . It means grinding if the next stage is powder coat/plastic dip.

 

[niall Y]

I reckon they are fake. you could clean off the coating a electroplate them with zinc. bound to be a recipe on the net and youtube

I think, sadly, that I would have to agree. My best guess, is that they are a sort of bright zinc powder coat - similar to those spray cans you can get, but a bit more robust.. As it is only my workshop door, then I will leave them in place' and see how they perform. If they last more than a few years this might well be the future for hot dip galvanised items.

 

[niall Y]

They may be galv as the weld spatter is actually bits in the molten zinc. The more expensive galv the less crud . It means grinding if the next stage is powder coat/plastic dip.

You could be right, and they may well be genuine hot dipped galvanised.. Though how would one explain the grey deposits I am getting from wiping with acetone? As far as I know, no metal is soluble in acetone,. and, as long as I keep wiping - I keep removing grey deposits.

 

[johnnyb]

What else could it be maybe not properly pickled/cleaned. The stuff floating on a molten zinc bath is accumulated over months and consists of anything off the things and anything falling in!

 

[niall Y]

What else could it be maybe not properly pickled/cleaned. The stuff floating on a molten zinc bath is accumulated over months and consists of anything off the things and anything falling in!

The supplier has assured me that they are indeed not dip galvanised so I can only assume the deposit is crud of some sort linked to this particular product...

 

[Cabinetman]

Well whichever, do make sure you bolt all parts though the door and frame. So easy just to unscrew otherwise.
Ian

 

[niall Y]

Well whichever, do make sure you bolt all parts though the door and frame. So easy just to unscrew otherwise.
Ian

Funnily enough I've just fitted some slightly longer coach bolts through the hinges this morning. This is all part of "beefing up" my doorway to the workshop, I've replaced the existing linings with a frame; the butt hinges, with hooks and bands;, and replaced the temporary OSB facia ( 14 years and counting ) with tanalised boards.

We do get break-ins, even this far out in the sticks. There is a sort of bush telegraph that keeps us informed, and we then make doubly sure to keep things out of sight and outbuildings locked up.

 

[Cabinetman]

Glad to hear it, and if they do go through the hinges route, another good easy thing to do is jamb bolts, screw in coach screws at a slight angle into the door frame cut the heads off, close the door to mark the positions then drill the edge of the door.
Trouble nowadays is battery powered grinders! And circular saws of course.
They are nothing if not ingenious, I saw a front door where they used an ordinary handsaw from the letterbox to both sides of the door, they then just opened the bottom half.