Muriatic acid works way faster. Sold as tile and brick cleaner. It’s approximately 35% aqueous HCl. Any hardware chain store will carry it. Also you won’t get sick from just burning it off in the forge unless you are closed up tight in a very small space, burning off a lot of zinc plating, for a very long time. HOWEVER… it makes for some sparky sparky if you don’t get it all burned off and if you’re using any softish items like a cheap anvil, crap hammer, or any tooling made from mild steel - the zinc that is still layered on there can cause some dings or a bit more deformation of tooling that without as zinc is notoriously harder than Chinese arithmetic. The yellow powdery zinc oxide also does no scrape off well when brushed if you choose to burn it off. Just don’t forget HCl will burn you and if you dunk a bunch of parts to remove plating and leave any in there they will dissolve in a short period of time because acids also attack iron. And and if you remove plating and intend to forge later, wash thoroughly with water so it doesn’t rust AS BAD. Always have proper ventilation in your forging space anyhow to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning. It’ll get you way before some zinc fumes do.
You get the same fumes if you melt brass because brass is an alloy of copper and zinc. I was in a class making Jewellery and I mentioned this to the teacher. She said she hadn't heard of that and It's never been a problem. Next term somebody complained of headaches after melting brass and the teacher made a point of warning us about the fumes. 😊
I welded galvanized fences, the smoke literally materializes into a cotton wool like substance. Did it quite some time and it gave me bad fevers. Sometimes you do what you got to do to stay afloat, but never again.
@@TKayCO they are fairly expensive when your first paycheck goes entirely to bills and gas. I'm not saying anyone should go without one, but like the op said, you gotta do what you gotta do.
I was an iron worker/steel erector for years. We would stand on a warehouse roof that was 1/2 mile of galvanized sheet in every direction and spend 16 hours a day bent over burning rod welding them down to the girt😂 ive had zinc fever a time or 11. It's not as bad as everyone seems to make it out. It's an irritation. That said- I weld for my own hobbies now and everyone once an a while ill need to stick a zinc galvanized part to something else- just hold my breath and burn through it. The smell is enough to make me nauseous now. (I flat out don't get sick/nauseous for anything except that)😂 just weld outdoors and don't breath it. Way easier
@@codyironworks307 You're doing world's more than most people. Most people would never take the time or trouble. These things really do matter, so you should be commended for devoting your time to helping people see the genuine dangers they will encounter if they take this craft up. You're a good man.
I’ve had to stick weld galvanized rails plenty of times and it’s no joke, sick as a dog, ever since I’ve worn a mask when welding galvanized steel. Zinc poisoning will f you up
@ plasma cutting might be worse, burning that 💩 all day inside, no thanks. At least we were working outside in the open breeze (although in 110 degree Texas sun haha)
If it ain't zinc ( zinc means zinc not zinc alume, in Australia it can be a problem communicating with tradespeople) it'll be a mix of zinc with cadmium from China and definitely bad , cadmium is a brown oxide after heating red hot while pure zinc is a white oxide after heating . Cadmium is the worse of the heavy metals and I'm pretty certain the vapour is sweet smelling.
I’d recommend not doing it, the few times I’ve welded on galvanized without my PAPR it was not fun. I don’t want to do it again. That being said I didn’t get full on sick from it. But nausea, headache, and feeling like I was hung over was still not fun. If you have to work on galvanized material, do it outside with proper respiratory protection.
@@NateKK7 It used to be routine for me, you develop a tolerance within a day or two and it stops bothering you. Unfortunately, you lose that tolerance over a weekend and have to start again on Monday. That's why another name for it is "Monday flu". Milk does indeed work as the calcium blocks a lot of the zinc absorption.
Lots of reasons, want them to look old , reforging the heads , making Shepard hook lag screws in this case I had just put all the lags in the vinegar already
Did you say galvanized or zinc? I heard both. Idk about zinc. But i used to work for a contractor that worked in a paper mill in my town before it shut down. They always warned me about cutting, grinding, or welding galvanized metal. I never got sick from it. I always heard if you get sick from it to drink milk. It's supposed to help out.
Milk is a no go for heavy metal poisoning welders say Ice cream milk dairy of that nature also fun fact the zyn kosher cream you extract from the vinegar and zinc plus oil will give you vinaigrette sulfate great for end of workday headaches like getting one not rid of one stay saucy Delaware jaun burnberry signing off good night
Ohh get over it the zinc burns off reletivly quickly. Unless your literally right over it while it burns off inhaling the fumes you’ll be just fine. I’ve brazed and soldered for years in my welding career.
The gas is hydrogen, so as long as it’s far enough from the forge, well ventilated and old mate doesn’t light his stogies right above the beaker it’s not too dangerous. The zinc ends up as a soluble Zinc acetate salt in the beaker / reaction vessel. Hydrogen is much lighter than air so will not accumulate if it has somewhere to escape. Now if you contain that hydrogen well enough and have oxygen and an ignition source…then, well…”Oh! The humanity!” can occur.
The fumes created in the vinegar process will be Hydrogen gas. Not highly poisonous like the Zinc Chloride gas. Hydrogen gas is of course highly flammable though So having it sitting inside near the forge doesn’t seem all that safe. Vinegar is still the safest way though, as opposed to burning or hydrochloric acid .
Now whenever you eventually mildy sick from not doing things safely the milk drinking trick really does help... It might be placebo but it's a powerful one 😄 Although running a bunch of zinc/galvanized bolts in an indoor forge is potentially lethal vs. "just" welding galvanized until you have a headache and stomach ache... 🫣
anvilfire.com/iForge/tutor.php?lesson=safety3/demo a link to an article
Muriatic acid works way faster. Sold as tile and brick cleaner. It’s approximately 35% aqueous HCl. Any hardware chain store will carry it.
Also you won’t get sick from just burning it off in the forge unless you are closed up tight in a very small space, burning off a lot of zinc plating, for a very long time. HOWEVER… it makes for some sparky sparky if you don’t get it all burned off and if you’re using any softish items like a cheap anvil, crap hammer, or any tooling made from mild steel - the zinc that is still layered on there can cause some dings or a bit more deformation of tooling that without as zinc is notoriously harder than Chinese arithmetic. The yellow powdery zinc oxide also does no scrape off well when brushed if you choose to burn it off. Just don’t forget HCl will burn you and if you dunk a bunch of parts to remove plating and leave any in there they will dissolve in a short period of time because acids also attack iron. And and if you remove plating and intend to forge later, wash thoroughly with water so it doesn’t rust AS BAD. Always have proper ventilation in your forging space anyhow to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning. It’ll get you way before some zinc fumes do.
That’s how I clean my epoxy grout on tile jobs
Good to know. Just got my first forge and have been researching dangers before i get real into it.
It's a dangerous game to play
@@codyironworks307yeah I forged galvanized steel when I first started and really wished I had this information. Never did it again after that.
You get the same fumes if you melt brass because brass is an alloy of copper and zinc. I was in a class making Jewellery and I mentioned this to the teacher. She said she hadn't heard of that and It's never been a problem. Next term somebody complained of headaches after melting brass and the teacher made a point of warning us about the fumes. 😊
I use muriatic acid & neutralize it afterwards with water & some EZ Off oven cleaner, it definitely stops the flash rusting.
you actually making a pretty good soldering flux by soaking zinc coated stuff in muriatic acid.
And don't weld zinc plated items. I used to, occasionally, until I learned about the danger from the fumes.
Oops
I welded galvanized fences, the smoke literally materializes into a cotton wool like substance.
Did it quite some time and it gave me bad fevers.
Sometimes you do what you got to do to stay afloat, but never again.
You should never have to do this to stay afloat. A suitable respirator isn’t that expensive.
@@TKayCO they are fairly expensive when your first paycheck goes entirely to bills and gas.
I'm not saying anyone should go without one, but like the op said, you gotta do what you gotta do.
Those who never have live lucky lives indeed
I was an iron worker/steel erector for years. We would stand on a warehouse roof that was 1/2 mile of galvanized sheet in every direction and spend 16 hours a day bent over burning rod welding them down to the girt😂 ive had zinc fever a time or 11. It's not as bad as everyone seems to make it out. It's an irritation. That said- I weld for my own hobbies now and everyone once an a while ill need to stick a zinc galvanized part to something else- just hold my breath and burn through it. The smell is enough to make me nauseous now. (I flat out don't get sick/nauseous for anything except that)😂 just weld outdoors and don't breath it. Way easier
I found this out the hard way and it’s good place know what you’re doing and you’ll suffer less pain anyway keep on rocking
@@maryannmoran-smyth3453 true that and thanks
Zinc oxide gas is no joke! That can jack your lungs up so bad and make you so sick . . . . Trust me I would know 🙄 . . . Unfortunately
Outstanding tip. You just saved a life. No telling whose, or how many, but thank you for the heads up.
Just tryin to keep people alive
@@codyironworks307 You're doing world's more than most people. Most people would never take the time or trouble. These things really do matter, so you should be commended for devoting your time to helping people see the genuine dangers they will encounter if they take this craft up.
You're a good man.
@No-One-of-Consequence thanks
No he did not!
@kinzieconrad105 thanks for the comments this video is really glowing up thanks to you
He need some milk!
Thanks for posting this
You bet
I use a gallon of muriatic acid from the pool supply. A bit sketchy but almost instant. Keep a cup of diluted baking soda to rinse.
I’ve had to stick weld galvanized rails plenty of times and it’s no joke, sick as a dog, ever since I’ve worn a mask when welding galvanized steel. Zinc poisoning will f you up
Plasma cutting galvanised grain panels is just as bad 🤢😊
@ plasma cutting might be worse, burning that 💩 all day inside, no thanks. At least we were working outside in the open breeze (although in 110 degree Texas sun haha)
Is there a cypher that goes with the zinc coding? 🤔
Same with welding zinc
I just keep away from the forge while it cooks off, but this was which an outside forge setup don’t do this in side
@@laurenceduvall5648 once the zink is in the forge who knows how long it takes before it's all cooked off
Copper ground rods are not all copper most are zink on the inside
If it ain't zinc ( zinc means zinc not zinc alume, in Australia it can be a problem communicating with tradespeople) it'll be a mix of zinc with cadmium from China and definitely bad , cadmium is a brown oxide after heating red hot while pure zinc is a white oxide after heating . Cadmium is the worse of the heavy metals and I'm pretty certain the vapour is sweet smelling.
@@Biggles732 it almost looks like spiderwebs or frost after the zink cooks off
Anytime i tried to forge zinc coates bolts they just cracked. And they always turned a weird yellow colour so i just stopped using them.
Also they have a different thread pitch and count.
I was just using them as a example try not and be so anal retentive it will give you anxiety
Not sure if its true, but i heard drinking milk will help in the event you do burn zinc coated materials. Wouldn't recommend testing this though.
Old welders' wives tales.
I’d recommend not doing it, the few times I’ve welded on galvanized without my PAPR it was not fun. I don’t want to do it again. That being said I didn’t get full on sick from it. But nausea, headache, and feeling like I was hung over was still not fun.
If you have to work on galvanized material, do it outside with proper respiratory protection.
@@NateKK7 It used to be routine for me, you develop a tolerance within a day or two and it stops bothering you. Unfortunately, you lose that tolerance over a weekend and have to start again on Monday.
That's why another name for it is "Monday flu".
Milk does indeed work as the calcium blocks a lot of the zinc absorption.
@@jordic6188 Nah, medical fact.
The calcium is taken up blocking the uptake of the zinc.
@@aaronmattison7265 it's bullshit and do you really want to take the chance?
Why are you putting brand new bolts into a forge? Or why would you have to put them in a forge?
Lots of reasons, want them to look old , reforging the heads , making Shepard hook lag screws in this case I had just put all the lags in the vinegar already
Did you say galvanized or zinc? I heard both. Idk about zinc. But i used to work for a contractor that worked in a paper mill in my town before it shut down. They always warned me about cutting, grinding, or welding galvanized metal. I never got sick from it. I always heard if you get sick from it to drink milk. It's supposed to help out.
Galvanized metal is zinc coated metal. Hot dip galvanized : hot liquid zinc in which you dip parts.
@jordic6188 Never knew those were similar. Always thought they were two different coatings.
@@_Jim-Jim the more you know !
Both! Its the same
Don't use milk its not going to save your life
Don't tell lead hammer dude that!
Milk is a no go for heavy metal poisoning welders say Ice cream milk dairy of that nature also fun fact the zyn kosher cream you extract from the vinegar and zinc plus oil will give you vinaigrette sulfate great for end of workday headaches like getting one not rid of one stay saucy Delaware jaun burnberry signing off good night
Life & Enviromental saving PSA
Well as much as I can
What about stainless?
I have Forged stainless without any problems and I know it's done commercially
Same hexavalent chromium hazards as welding it. Look up everything you do.
Metal fume fever
Galvanic poisoning 😖
FYI the amount coming off one bolt 😂😂😅😂😅😂😅😂😅😂😅 dude roast it brush it don't stick your head in the cloud you be fine!
@@kinzieconrad105 thanks for the comments
You can buy black oxide bolts, just saying ❤️
Bolts yes laggs no
@@codyironworks307you can definitely get plain finish lags
Ohh get over it the zinc burns off reletivly quickly. Unless your literally right over it while it burns off inhaling the fumes you’ll be just fine. I’ve brazed and soldered for years in my welding career.
Tough guy..... Telling the guys wife and kids how it happened.... What ever kid
I never knew this. In trades 40 years.
@@Tom-z1q welding torch cutting, any heating will cause this
The works toilet bowl cleaner works much faster
You need a fume extractor
@@Golgi-Gyges I've got one I did this for the video,
Wear a respirator
Resperator wont get it all.
And you have to use the respirator every time you use the forge
And you gotta shave your beard and public hair.
HCL acid is faster.
But it'll also attack the iron.
✌️🤟🙏🫡
You are also creating dangerous fumes with the vinegar process
The gas is hydrogen, so as long as it’s far enough from the forge, well ventilated and old mate doesn’t light his stogies right above the beaker it’s not too dangerous.
The zinc ends up as a soluble Zinc acetate salt in the beaker / reaction vessel.
Hydrogen is much lighter than air so will not accumulate if it has somewhere to escape. Now if you contain that hydrogen well enough and have oxygen and an ignition source…then, well…”Oh! The humanity!” can occur.
The fumes created in the vinegar process will be Hydrogen gas. Not highly poisonous like the Zinc Chloride gas.
Hydrogen gas is of course highly flammable though So having it sitting inside near the forge doesn’t seem all that safe.
Vinegar is still the safest way though, as opposed to burning or hydrochloric acid .
Outside!!! Do it outside or under a vent I did this for the video..... Did you never take 6th grade science 😂
I hope you have private health insurance.
Ahh no
Now whenever you eventually mildy sick from not doing things safely the milk drinking trick really does help... It might be placebo but it's a powerful one 😄 Although running a bunch of zinc/galvanized bolts in an indoor forge is potentially lethal vs. "just" welding galvanized until you have a headache and stomach ache... 🫣
anvilfire.com/iForge/tutor.php?lesson=safety3/demo