There are many ways of protecting metal from the weather.  Common methods adopted for protecting steel include:

·         Painting

·         Hot- Dip Galvanising

PAINTING 

Painting steel is the lowest cost of method but gives weak protection for outside use.  

Painting steel would regularly need to be maintained by re-applying the paint approximately every 6 – 12 months to protect the steel from corrosion depending on the weather.  

So at first, paint systems seem to be the cheapest option, but in the long run it can be a costly decision.   

GALVANISING  

Hot – Dip Galvanising is by far the best way to protect steel from corrosion for outside use. 

Galvanised steel will always be considered to have superior protection compared to paint. 

The protection time for the steel is approximately 20 – 25 years, but it is not uncommon in certain conditions for galvanised steel to last more than 70 years or beyond. 

The galvanising process is a coating of iron or steel with a thin zinc layer, by passing the steel through a molten bath of zinc at a temperature of around 860 °F (460 °C).  When exposed to the atmosphere, pure zinc reacts with oxygen to form zinc oxide, which further reacts with carbon dioxide to form zinc carbonate, a dull grey, fairly strong material that stops further corrosion in many circumstances, protecting the steel below from the elements. 

Galvanised steel is widely used in applications where rust resistance is needed.  This gives the steel a longer life expectancy and is more cost effective over the steels life time compared to paint.