Finally got around to installing the rest of the railings today, and overall the galvanising wasn't as bad as I first thought. Here is the worst bit......and it seems to coincide with the penetration of the weld???
Have a think about metal spraying it (hot zinc spray). It's a long standing process (we've been in business supplying the equipment to do it since 1922) but is not as well known as hot dip. It's a process where you melt a metal and spray it. In the case of an alternative to galv, the metal is zinc but you can also spray aluminium, copper, brass, bronze, steel etc. You get the picture. It is a line of sight process so it won't run into nooks and crannies but if you've got sealed box section, you don't need to introduce vent holes. Normally, there is little or not fettling required after. Widely used on gates, fences, railings, balconies, street furniture, structural steel, off-shore oil platforms and boats (plus a load more).
There are some jobs that could only be hot dipped, some that could only be metal sprayed and some that are suitable by either process. There are a few metal spray contractors between Berwick and Glasgow that I'm sure would be able to spray fire exits or trailers.
