I got this stuff called Zinga, its like 96% zinc in a binder this comes in brush on tin or spray cans (the heaviest cans you'll ever lift), apparently it is more effective than hot dip galvanising.

So I tried the stuff on some panels I’d cleaned in the bath of doom, which were spotless and dry. Problem…it rubbed off with my finger and did not seem to bond at all with the surface The instructions do say works best if the item is first grit blasted and then 'decontaminated'...do I hear warning bells

Oh great £40 down the pan

Ah but I had and idea why not try mixing the zinc paint with a sticky paint (where is the light bulb smiley?) like engine enamel so I did and it worked great.

So first I give it a light spray of the engine paint and then right way spray a coat on Zinga into the first coat, I mixes well without any reactions. Once dry I give it a heavy coat of Zinga followed, once that’s dry by a final shiny coat of enamel (which you’ll note on the tin says Acrylic )

Worked great, very good bond and now plenty of Zinc to prevent corrosion.

Hope this is some help to someone
Rescued attachment zinga.JPG

posted something the other day about zinga, some interesting claims. If its as good as they say - you're not going to see any rust for a number of years!

let us know how you get on, i may be ready to paint my chassis around then

A rough oil free surface will probably be better for the paint to adhere to.
Did you use panel wipe before you started?

I had the same "rubs straight off " with galvafroid another "cold galvanising paint concoction. I followed the instructions and it was pants. I was trying to use it on Land Rover bits.

Caber

oh they were was clean alright, scrubbed the panels, then washed with thinners followed by cleaning with washing up liquid and drying over the radiator, even wore latex gloves to handle it.

Still rubbed off

only thing I could do was mix it with another paint, though I think it will still work fine as the zinc should leach out into any scratches the panels gets.

Quoted off the can – ‘Zingard hardens on metal surfaces and its excellent flexibility and adhesion prevents peeling off, with exceptional resistance to mechanical shocks, abrasion and erosion’

Ehem yeah right…

Next they’ll be claiming it halves your cars running cost by simply tie-wrapping the can to the fuel line.

I exchanged emails with the Zinga's technical manager for UK & Eire a little while ago about using it for a kit car, he's on rsimpson@zinga-uk.com, nice fella, I'm sure he'd be happy to answer any queries. I've never used it but am planning to - i beleive from what Rick says that a blast cleaning or phosphate dipping surface treatment is recommended before coating with this stuff.

Once it's on properly you shouldn't even be able to chisel it off. I'm pretty sure that if you mix it with paint you'll lose galvanic protection so it'll be pointless. I think if you don't blast or phosphate it may be fruitless, but ask Rick to be sure.

As above, Zinga will only help with corrosion resistance if it's directly on the metal.. The zinc particles need to be electrically connected to the metal else it's no better than normal paint! So I'm afraid mixing with paint is a wast of time...

Dan

oh well won't be buying that stuff again

I've pretty much concluded it's going to be good for small exposed stuff I can have blast cleaned, like wishbones and uprights. I was thinking about phosphate dipping the whole chassis and then filling it with this stuff and draining it, then painting the outside - voila, galvanised and non-warped chassis. Then I thought sod it I can't be bothered, I'll just do the bits that'll get knackered first.

At the end of the day this is just another surface finish, penetrate the surface, eg. stone chip and you have exposed bare metal and corrosion will begin. A small tin of touch up paint regularly used will maintain the item much more cheaply and look better cosmetically.

Mick

arguably not.

The zinc provides protection within a small distance to the damage. If you read the site its quite interesting. Its the same principle as the zinc blocks on ships hulls.

For a while people used to say a zinc coating was self healing. Of course that is not possible but when its scratched the cathodic nature of the surface meand the zinc will corrode before the steel therefore keeping the steel oxide free. There will come a point however where the zinc corrodes back so far the the steel becomes unprotected again but it seems to take a long time.Didnt they call the zinc blocks on ships "sacrificial anodes"? Coating with the stuff does the same.

My mate fits galvanized chassis to Land Rovers - there are some done quite a few years ago that are still totally rust free.


i cant help thinking with the Zinga that you may need to add a coat and then allow it time to harden. If it is powdery then something is very wrong. maybe the surface prep isnt quite right. Have you tried new steel cleaned with panel wipe or similar. I dare bet the Highway maintenance people use this type of product for repairing armco barriers etc and they wont suffer a bad product for long.

[Edited on 25/4/08 by DarrenW]