Can I use a galvanised tank for stripping furniture with caustic soda lye? Your advice is appreciated BILL?
Question:I have a mild steel tank already and I would like to galvanise it to stop it from rusting. My worry is whether the caustic soda or lye would react with the galvanised surface which is I think zinc?
Any advice on stripping furniture in a caustic tank would be appreciated.
Thanks!!
Answers:
Please forget the plastic tank,if you could find one big enough it would cost a fortune.Best and only way is to send the furniture away ton a pro. By the time you have had your tank galvanised and the cost of that + the cost of any other materials i think you could have gone out and bought some new furniture.sit back relax and let some one else do the dirty work.
no, youre bettter off with a plastic tank, caustic soda is alkaline, it eats aluminimum but dont know about zinc. but plastic is cheaper... and it wont damage the stuff when you bang it against the sides or scrape an edge
The lye won't hurt the zinc, but they often dissolve aluminum in the zinc to give a brighter looking finish. Lye will allow water to react with the aluminum, oxidizing it to a powder.
Galvanising an existing tank isn't easy. You have to dip the whole thing into a tank of liquid zinc and make sure all the surfaces get covered without any air bubbles. Not straightforward when everything is hot enough to melt zinc metal. Its also quite expensive. Large plastic tanks are available either new or second hand - often supplied to farms etc.
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