Engineers, architects, designers, electricians, and plumbers understand the benefits of using galvanized products. However, homeowners and business proprietors may ask, what does galvanized mean? Galvanization coats steel with zinc to protect the base material from corrosion, rust, and other damaging elements. It is an affordable alternative to stainless steel.
In the hot-dipped galvanization method, steel is submerged in molten zinc that is heated to approximately 840 degrees F. The zinc and steel form a metallurgic bond that creates a cohesive coating of zinc over the steel substrate. The thickness of hot-dipped galvanized coating averages 85 microns, which can protect steel from corrosion and rust for as long as 100 years.
Chemically, molten zinc reacts with oxygen to create zinc oxide. It then reacts with atmospheric carbon dioxide, forming zinc carbonate. Zinc rusts when exposed to moisture and air.
The galvanized coating forms a grayish-white patina of zinc rust. However, zinc’s corrosion rate is approximately 1/30th of that of steel. The zinc becomes sacrificial because the slowly eroding zinc protects the steel underneath the coating.
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