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There’s nothing wrong with wanting a stylish trailer rim, but that shouldn’t be the only factor you consider when choosing trailer rims. Trailers have to be rugged to perform their function satisfactorily, and for this to happen, every part of the trailer, from the engine to the rims, has to withstand exposure to harsh environments.
The trailer rims especially have to bear all substances and chemicals that they might be exposed to. This is especially true if you have any desire to use your trailer for navigational purposes. Exposure to saltwater can be especially damaging for rims. It can cause your trailer rims to corrode, so before you even consider style, make sure the trailer rims you choose are the correct metal with a coating that will help it function in any condition it might be exposed to.
With this in mind, what are the differences between galvanized and white painted rims, and which is better for your trailer?
What Are Galvanized And White Painted Trailer Rims?
A galvanized trailer rim is a trailer rim that has undergone a zinc coating process. This helps the trailer rim stay protected from harmful substances and environmental conditions.
A white-painted trailer rim is simply a trailer rim coated in white paint, giving it the classic trailer rim look.
Galvanized rims and trailer rims are different in many ways, including the method used to apply the coating, their effects, benefits, and disadvantages.
Galvanized rims are trailer rims that have a zinc coating process. The zinc coating process helps the metal stay protected from potential damage when exposed to unfavorable substances, making the metal much more durable and more likely to serve you for a more extended period.
Zinc coatings are beneficial for protecting the metal from debilitating from constant exposure to saltwater and other dangerous elements like scalding heat and high humidity. However, if you’re planning to use your trailer in saltwater, a galvanized trailer rim will be the best option for you because of how good a job it does at protecting from corrosion.
Although it would be dishonest not to mention that galvanized metal has a few cons, an example of such disadvantage is that the metal has a high tendency of rusting in places where the rim has been cracked, chipped, or damaged in some ways. This means that your rims are only completely assured protection from the galvanization process if your trailer rims are always in perfect condition.
Once the rims begin to get damaged, your trailer rims will have lowered resistance to corrosion from exposure to damaging substances and environmental conditions. This is because galvanization is a coating process that protects the metal, and in a case where the metal is exposed, it would react as though the coating wasn’t there. So, for example, if you wear a coat in the snow covering your body completely, your body will be warm, but your ears and face will be very cold if your head isn’t covered.
The same thing applies to galvanized trailer rims. So if you do get a galvanized trailer rim, you will have to make sure to keep it in perfect condition and prevent even a scratch from forming. Washing off salt water after use is a great way to protect your galvanized trailer rims.
Iron and steel are vulnerable to corrosion, which is a process that reverts them to their natural state, a condition that renders them useless to you. So providing sufficient coating is not only economically advantageous, but it is also necessary for you to enjoy the trailer rims you’ve purchased.
Galvanization will help you reduce or even eliminate the need for maintenance, and it will also reduce the lost time you will spend trying to repair damaged trailer rims. As mentioned earlier, when it comes to providing an excellent protective coating, nothing beats galvanization.
It provides superior benefits for your trailer rims than any other form of coatings like coating thickness, durability, protection, and application. Galvanization also assures your trailer rims a long and maintenance-free lifespan.
One of the significant benefits of hot-dip galvanized protection is long life, very long life. The galvanization process can have your trailer rim protected for up to 5-10 years, depending on how well the method is applied. This benefit has been well documented over decades and is used not just for trailer rims but also in other industrial and marine environments. Even in much harsher conditions than trailer rims will ever be in, so you can rest assured that galvanization will guarantee your trailer rims a long lifespan.
If you use your trailer rims in rural atmospheres, you might even get to use them for up to 25 years! The rims themselves do not suffer significant damage that leads to chipping, cracking, peeling, etc. If you do need to take maintenance measures, you won’t need complex preparation treatments. The treatment of your trailer rims will be pretty straightforward.
The hot-dip process of galvanizing metal enables it to be metallurgically bonded to the steel. This feature makes galvanizing a unique coating process, especially since there is no other coating process with this feature. In addition, this process makes galvanized metal the most resistant metal to damage from handling, use, and storage, which is very important for your trailer rims, mainly because this will expose your trailer rims to harsh substances and environmental conditions.
The galvanizing process involves dipping metal into molten zinc, which ensures that the entire surface of the trailer rim is completely coated, in and out, and in all the hard-to-reach gaps and corners.
Painting and other forms of coating do not have this advantage. In addition, unlike other coatings which thin out in vital edges and corners, galvanizing provides a layer that thickens in critical corners and edges, a feat that cannot be replicated with brushing, spraying, or dipping coatings.
Other ways galvanized coatings protect your trailer rims. The first has to do with how slowly the coating weathers. The slow weathering gives the metal a longer and much more efficient lifespan.
The coating, when it corrodes, does so preferentially to protect the damaged parts of the metal that may be damaged. In other words, as the zinc weathers, it deposits the weathered bits onto the broken and exposed pieces of the metal. This way, the coating can continue protecting your trailer rims from damage even as it begins to wear off. This is known as cathodic protection, and it is pretty helpful because of the tendency of trailer rims to experience sideways corrosion. Other forms of coating, especially paint, do not protect from the sideways creep of corrosion and rust.
It is also easy to check whether a galvanized trailer rim needs maintenance. This is because the protective finish or coating starts to change physically and loses its brilliant aesthetic look once it starts getting damaged. Even if you can’t tell from the face of the protective finish, you can use an electronic probe to measure the thickness. Since there is a specified thickness, you will quickly tell if you need to do some retouching.
Wheel paint, on the other hand, is more aesthetic than protective. Sure, it does a brilliant job of protecting your trailer rim to the best of its ability, that is, but the fact is that the effects of paint and galvanizing are entirely incomparable. In addition, paint protects your rims from rough environmental conditions and is particularly useful for protecting your rims from high temperatures.
It also protects your rims when you are on the road. It does this by protecting it from getting chipped, cracked, scratched, rusted, and corroded from debris it might pick up or come into contact with while you’re on the road.
Though it isn’t doesn’t have as good a coating as a galvanized rim does, its usefulness should not be unappreciated. It might not resist damage from saltwater after constant and extended exposure to it, but it is excellent for short-term protection.
However, if you’re purchasing new trailer rims, painting is not always the best option. White painted trailer rims are at a much higher risk of corrosion than galvanized trailer rims and do very little to protect trailer rims from getting corroded.
Most applications of galvanization cost much less than other protective and aesthetic coatings. Compared to painting, the cost of galvanizing is getting increasingly affordable. This is mainly because painting, in particular, is quite labor-intensive and requires you to pay a professional who will charge a reasonable amount. On the other hand, galvanizing is a closely controlled factory process highly mechanized, leading to reduced labor costs.
Galvanizing has a low initial and lifetime cost, making it an economical and versatile method of steel protection that has results lasting up to and beyond 20 years. You don’t have to worry about maintenance costs, and extended maintenance intervals give several advantages, including but not limited to reduced prices.
Also, if you live in a rural or remote area, you don’t have to go through the stress of regular maintenance checks that will force you to travel long distances and put you in stressful situations.
The process of galvanizing is straightforward. The galvanizing coating is among a handful of coatings defined by a British Standard, making the job relatively easy to do and apply.
The coating’s thickness is predictable, regular, and specified. Galvanizing also has a speedy application process. You can have a fully protective coat applied in a couple of hours, whereas a complex painting system can take up to a week to be used thoroughly.
Galvanized trailer rims are ready to be used immediately. Though some people prefer to have them painted, there is no real need for this. Once the rim has been successfully galvanized, it can be used immediately. You don’t need any further touching up, preparation, inspection, or coating.
Even if you would want to paint it for aesthetic reasons, galvanized trailer rims are already stylish in their way, and expect you have a specific preference. There are no improving galvanized rims, whether aesthetically or with regards to protective quality. All the style and durability you need can be obtained from galvanized metal.
The material used for the coating is made out of zinc which is a natural and recyclable substance, making it an environmentally sustainable option.
White paint trailers have the aesthetic advantage of having the classic trailer rim look, making them immediately attractive and impressive to anyone viewing them. Plus, you can easily paint over it if you would prefer another color or look.
You can also use duplex coatings if you prefer it, which means galvanizing and painting your trailer rims. This has an effect that is synergistic and can improve your trailer rim’s lifespan depending on your use and handling of the rims.
The differences between galvanized trailer rims and the white-painted alternative are significant. As you must have concluded by now, white-painted trailer rims are nothing near as good as galvanized rims.
The zinc coating will serve your trailer rims much better than galvanized rims possibly can. However, if you do get white-painted trailer rims, you should only plan to use them short-term because the fact is they won’t serve you well for an extended period.
Galvanized trailer rims are highly recommended and should be the obvious choice. They will serve you well and ensure you don’t have much to worry about regarding your trailer rims for well over a decade, possibly several decades. Have fun!
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