Once the new chassis had been completed it was sent for hot dip galvanising, on its return it was power sanded to provide a good key for the black powder coating.

Painting with standard black paint was considered, to keep the chassis looking original, but in the end it was decided that black Powder Coating would provide an extra layer of protection and would probably be more scratch resistant. Powder coating is particularly effective on a suitably prepared galvanised surface where it can form a very strong bond and provide excellent weatherproofing as well as looking original.

Early in the project it had been decided that long-term preservation was very important, to this end all steel brackets and castings were to be either hot dip galvanised or Zinc Flame Sprayed.

Zinc Flame Metal spraying is a very useful way of preserving smaller metal parts with a corrosion resisting zinc coating. The technique involves the use of a special molten zinc spray head; this utilises a very hot gas torch with a central zinc wire feed (not unlike a MIG type welder reel) and a compressed air spray nozzle. A continuous zinc wire feed is melted by a gas flame and sprayed like paint by the air feed, this results in a thin coating of molten zinc which solidifies on contact, bonding with the metal components being treated.

It provides a similar kind of protection as that of hot dip galvanising but is more suitable for thinner metal parts that would be buckled or distorted by the intense heat if dipped directly into a bath of molten zinc. This type of treatment is also ideal for parts such as fuel tanks that only really need exterior protection from corrosive road spray.

Hot Dip Galvanising however does have the advantage of penetrating inside hollow components, such as chassis rails, and it does provide an extra thick zinc layer of protection, but Zinc Flame Spraying provides a practical and effective alternative for more delicate components.

All axles, diff housings, brake drums, steering components, brake and clutch operating rods and other heavy-duty parts were sand blasted before being zinc flame sprayed followed by treatment with trusty red oxide and a final topcoat of black enamel.

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