Galvanised flower container

[Richardtr3a]

My wife has a special wooden box which is 12" X 12" x 28" high. The top of this piece of furniture has a galvanised liner which is a 12" cube. The water has been a bout 3" deep inside for many years. We took it apart for a clean up today. The liner is starting to rust in small patches internally and there are some small rust marks beginning in the joints about 1" long.

How can I treat the inside and then use some product to resist any more reactions to the water. Fuel tanks can be cleaned and treated with the right chemicals. We could use a plastic flower pot to fit inside but they do not usually come cube size and could spoil the look. It currently lives in the corner of the sitting room.

Any advice would be very helpful.

Richard and B.

[Peter V W]

Richard and B,

You can buy special galvanised paint suitable for this type of work.

Peter.

[john.r.davies]

A galvanised container is safe for plants, and would be if you get it regalvanised, electrolytically.    But the other things in 'galvanising paint', zinc-rich, weld-through  primer for instance, might not be!

There are workshops that will regalvanise your liner, and the Galvanised Association (see Google) would advise you.

John

[RogerH]

Hi Richard,

 the cheapest repair would probably be to get it re-galvanised.

A very good paint is 'zinga' but is quite expensive and you would not need a whole tin full.

Any ships chandler would supply it.

 

Roger

[Richardtr3a]

I have cured the rust . My daughter has a garden plant pot made from fibre glass.. Now we are considering making a fibre glass flower pot to fit inside our wooden container and retain any water. What would be the best kit to make a a box 12"x12"x12".

If I need to I could make a pattern in old timber and make a smaller container to fit inside.

Please send me a link if you think that this is possible.

Richard & B

[john.r.davies]

Richard,

I once made a roof for my Vitesse from GRP.

You would need to make a mould, layup the glass fibre fabric and resin in that and then break it out of the mould.     Your pattern in timber could be made to split apart, which is a good way to make GRP parts.

But GRP will become part of any ordinary wooden mould!     To get the part out of the mould, the surface must be very smooth and treated with a release agent (PVA), or else lined with something that resin will not stick to, like melamine faced chipboard or brown parcel tape.        There are "Glass Fibre Kits" available, that include the cloth and resin that you could try out with - look in a Halfords store.     Rather than make a mould etc, lining the original container with GRP would make it waterproof, and a kit might be sufficient - would that be acceptable?

There are lots of "Basics of GRP" online, suggest you have a look at  those. 

John 

[Richardtr3a]

Hi John,

Thanks for the reply and the photo.  I am very impressed by your roof.  How did you make it the correct shape? I am looking for a kit to make five panels 12" x 12" and we were expecting a few pounds.

I am spending time on the screen when the sun is shining and the TR is together. The first test drive is to the local filling station.

Thanks for your advice

Richard & B

[john.r.davies]

I took a mould from an original roof.  It needed to have seven parts, to ensure that the product would come out of the mould.

See below.

I wrote the process up for another car magazine, would you like a copy?

JOhn

 

Edited May 29, 2022 by john.r.davies

[ianc]

If my wife bought galvanised flowers it would not be necessary for me to water them when she goes away to visit her brother. 

I got a bollocking this morning because all the cut flowers in pots inside the house had died whilst she was in Devon - my written instructions only covered watering the flowers in the garden.

Ian Cornish

[Richardtr3a]

Thanks for the pictures, We do not want the fibreglass to stick to the existing metal.   So I am making a wooden cube and will dress the fibreglass over the outside . The new fibreglass box will fit inside the metal container when finished and the wood removed. How do I stop the resin sticking to the temporary timber?

The kit has just arrived by post and the instructions include a slotted roller. Where can I find one ? and what is it ?

Thanks for the help so far.

Richard & B

[Charlie D]

Richard,

You don’t really need to use a slotted roller for the small item you are making. It’s only really used to get air bubbles out of items that will be seen. All you need to do is “Stipple” the layup with a stiff bristled brush (Just a 1” paintbrush with the bristles cut down to about ¾ “ long will do.) Get as much air out as you can, but don’t worry too much about it.

To stop the resin from sticking to the wood, paint the wood with a couple of coats of PVA and when dry a few coats of furniture polish. Again, as you are not bothered about the finish you can lay the PVA/polish on and not bother to buff it up.

Best to make the wooden box up so it can be taken apart inside the fiberglass finished box, otherwise you will never get the two apart. Normally you would make a taper to the wooden box so that it could slip out, but as you will not be using it again, a way to break it apart inside is the easiest option.

To clean the brush you need acetone, but as you will probably not need it again for laying up you might as well throw it away, along with the container you mixed the resin in, (Bottom half  of a plastic milk bottle is ideal for this.)

TAKE EXTRA CARE when measuring out the catalyst with the resin. Too much and it will go off in the pot before you know it. Too little and it will never go off. Use a proper measure.

WEAR GLOVES AND EYE PROTECTION. It will stick to your skin and sting like hell if it splashes in your eye. (If it does splash, the only place it ever seems to end up is in your eye.)

I used to make panels for a living and have come across all the problems you can imagine, all through trial and error.

The only thing for certain is that if you have never done it before you probably will never wish to do it again.

Charlie.

[Deggers]

17 hours ago, Charlie D said:

. . .  if you have never done it before you probably will never wish to do it again.

Ditto. Been there, got the T. 

Each to their own, but for a job of this size, I'd probably use a clear liquid sealant rubber spray. 

Flex Seal Clear,  Gorilla Patch spray,  Rust-oleum . . . plenty of products on the market.

Spray on. Allow to cure to a watertight coating.

          

Deggers

 

Edited June 1, 2022 by Deggers