Surface Treatment Selection
Hot-dip galvanizing, electroplated galvanizing, painting or acid passivation, chosen against the environment rather than against the invoice.
A grating panel almost never wears out. It corrodes, and it corrodes first at the places fabrication created: cut ends, weld joints, hook welds and drilled holes. That is why everything here is coated after it is fabricated, and why the choice of coating is made against what the panel will live in. This plant produces all four treatments, so there is no commercial reason to push one where another belongs.
Surface Treatment Selection In 5 Steps
Hot-Dip Galvanizing
The default for carbon steel outdoors.
The fabricated panel is immersed so zinc reaches cut ends, hook welds and the inside of banding. It is the treatment used on almost all the carbon steel grating and handrail this plant ships.
Electroplated Galvanizing
A thinner, brighter zinc coat for sheltered duty.
Used where appearance matters more than coating thickness and the panel is not exposed to weather or washdown. It is listed by the company as one of its surface treatments.
Painting
Colour, usually over galvanizing rather than instead of it.
Specified where a facade or architectural package calls for a colour. Paint over a galvanized coat lasts; paint over bare steel on an outdoor grating does not.
Acid Passivation
The treatment that makes stainless steel behave like stainless steel.
Fabrication damages the passive chromium oxide layer at every cut and weld. Acid passivation restores it across the whole panel, which is why stainless grating that skipped this step rusts at the joints.
Choosing Between Them
The environment decides, not the budget.
Weather and vehicles point to hot-dip galvanized carbon steel. Washdown chemicals, chlorides and hygiene audits point to stainless with passivation. Visible architectural work points to press locked panels in whichever of the two suits the exposure.
The Products Referenced Above
Welded Steel Grating 32x3 With Round Cross Bar
Pressure-welded carbon steel panel on 32x3 bearing bar with a 6 mm round cross bar, hot-dip galvanized, a step up in section from the 30x2.5 panel.
See the specification
Press Locked Grating 32x3 Carbon Steel
Hot-dip galvanized carbon steel press locked panel with 32x3 bearing bar and a matching 32x3 cross bar, giving a deep square mesh.
See the specification
Heel Guard Grating 25x6 Stainless Steel
Stainless steel heel guard panel on 25x6 bearing bar with 6x6 cross bar, acid passivated, for washdown floors and visible interior runs.
See the specification
Ditch Steel Grating 30x5 Stainless Steel
Stainless steel ditch grating on 30x5 bearing bar with an 8 mm round cross bar, acid passivated, for interior floor channels that are washed down.
See the specification
Concrete Cover Grating 65x5 Heavy Duty
Heavy cover panel on 65x5 bearing bar with a 6 mm round cross bar, hot-dip galvanized, for chambers crossed by forklifts and light vehicles.
See the specificationSurface Treatment Selection Questions
Can I have paint in a specific colour?
How thick is the zinc coating?
Is passivation the same as electropolishing?
Can you galvanize panels made elsewhere?
Start On Surface Treatment Selection
Send the reference, the quantity and the destination market. A recommended starting point with the matching specifications comes back by email.