The table below shows whether body of A4 B8, made from 2011 to 2016, is galvanized and the quality of processing. Print
Year
Processing
Type
Method
Car body condition
2011
Full-body
Hot-dip Galvanizing (one-sided and double-sided)
• zinc melt on steel • zinc layer 3 - 8 microns • includes a share of aluminum body elements • protection of connections against electrochemical corrosion has been applied
Result of processing: Good Car's 13 years old.Considering the car's age and quality of the zinc processing, under normal operating conditions the first corrosion will begin in 9 years.
2012
Full-body
Hot-dip Galvanizing (one-sided and double-sided)
• zinc melt on steel • zinc layer 3 - 8 microns • includes a share of aluminum body elements • protection of connections against electrochemical corrosion has been applied
Result of processing: Good Car's 12 years old.Considering the car's age and quality of the zinc processing, under normal operating conditions the first corrosion will begin in 10 years.
2013
Full-body
Hot-dip Galvanizing (one-sided and double-sided)
• zinc melt on steel • zinc layer 3 - 8 microns • includes a share of aluminum body elements • protection of connections against electrochemical corrosion has been applied
Result of processing: Good Car's 11 years old.Considering the car's age and quality of the zinc processing, under normal operating conditions the first corrosion will begin in 11 years.
2014
Full-body
Hot-dip Galvanizing (one-sided and double-sided)
• zinc melt on steel • zinc layer 3 - 8 microns • includes a share of aluminum body elements • protection of connections against electrochemical corrosion has been applied • since 2014 the paint coating updated • Semi-hollow punch-riveting have been used since 2014
Result of processing: Good Car's 10 years old.Considering the car's age and quality of the zinc processing, under normal operating conditions the first corrosion will begin in 12 years.
2015
Full-body
Hot-dip Galvanizing (one-sided and double-sided)
• zinc melt on steel • zinc layer 5 - 12 microns • includes a share of aluminum body elements • protection of connections against electrochemical corrosion has been applied
Result of processing: Good Car's 9 years old.Considering the car's age and quality of the zinc processing, under normal operating conditions the first corrosion will begin in 13 years.
2016
Full-body
Hot-dip Galvanizing (one-sided and double-sided)
• zinc melt on steel • zinc layer 5 - 12 microns • includes a share of aluminum body elements • protection of connections against electrochemical corrosion has been applied • introduction of plasma welding (WIG) and rations of seams
Result of processing: Good Car's 8 years old.Considering the car's age and quality of the zinc processing, under normal operating conditions the first corrosion will begin in 14 years.
The information in table is collected from open sources and may contain errors.About sources
Full-body — the car body is fully processed, including hidden and hard-to-reach cavities.
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Partial — all nodal points and most vulnerable parts of the car body, thresholds, bottom, bottom of the doors are processed.
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Nodal points processing — includes only processing of welding places, fasteners, stamping and other small parts.
Over years the processing is changed. The younger car the better it's galvanized!
Galvanizing methods
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Hot-dip Galvanizing — best method (high corrosion resistance, resistance to mechanical influences, partial regeneration).
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Electroplating — good method (less corrosion resistance that matches perfectly with the paint and primer).
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Zincrometal — acceptable method (metal with an elastic coating on a zinc base, low anti-corrosion properties, low resistance to mechanical influences).
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Cold Galvanizing — bad method (anaphoretic soil with an admixture of zinc is not able to resist corrosion).
Steel with a protective coating based on zinc - zincrometal, it contains three components:
1 — zincrometal (zinc solution in epoxy resin) 10-20 microns
2 — dacromet (zinc variance inchromic acid water solution) 2-5 microns
3 — sheet of steel
The presence of zinc particles in ground covering the car body does not affect it's protection and is used by the manufacturer for word "Zinc Coated" in advertising.
Testing
Test results of cars that came off the conveyor with the same damage (cross) on the bottom of front right door are presented below. The tests were carried out in laboratory. Conditions in a chamber with hot salt fog for 40 days correspond to 5 years of normal operation.
Car with Hot-dip Galvanizing (zinc layer 12 - 15 microns)
Over the years manufacturers have improved the galvanizing technology of their cars. The younger the car the better it is galvanized!
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A coating with a thickness of 2 to 10 microns (micrometers) provides excellent protection against the occurrence and spread of corrosion damage.
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The destruction rate of the active zinc layer in the place of damage to the car body is from 1 to 6 microns per year. Zinc is more actively destroyed at elevated temperatures.
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If the manufacturer does not add "full-body" to the term "galvanizing", it means that only impact-prone elements have been processed.
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Pay more attention to the presence of a manufacturer's warranty on the car body than loud phrases about galvanizing from advertising.