saw the truck in sa tx . was with a friend could only get the tailgate. by the time i got back to mi for my truck and trailer and drove back there they crushed it . has anyone ever seen one before

 

i have never seen galvanized body parts on a ford truck.

 

the whole truck was galvanized cab and all

 

Thats one way ro keep the cab corners and rear wheel wells!

 

just from that picture it looks like multiple layers of faded and peeling paint?

I suppose you could galvanize all the panels on a truck but that would be quite costly and I suspect you would be fighting distortion issues on such thin steel.

 

if you look at the picture there is hardly any paint on it . it feels heaver than normal maybe ford used thicker steel for the hot dip.

 

The cover on the transmission hump of the floorboard on mine is bright hot dipped galvanized, probably G-60, maybe G-90, but that's not a body part..

I have the probable explanation and solution to this "mystery" in my next post.

 

Where is the photo? I would like to see it.

I'll venture to offer a solution to this mystery. No, sorry to say, it is NOT hot dip galvanizing.

I experienced the same wrong initial perception on my 1987 XLT Lariat after I first bought it.

Even though I have significant knowledge and experience in welding/metallurgy, sheet metal fabrication (had my own small sheet metal shop fabricating architectural metals) from 1979-1987 (that was a long time ago). I worked with all of the common galvanized sheet steel specifications, G40 to G90, as well as other corrosion resistant coatings like 'paint-grip,' I was fooled at first by what I saw under the badly peeling paint on my truck It is two tone silver-like colors, "Light Smoke" which is like silver and Dark Smoke." which is like a medium to light silvery charcoal color. Very obviously Sun baked in California for 23 years and rain soaked in western Washington for another 7 years, the paint is badly peeled. The silver-like colors during that era were notorious for peeling off prematurely in very sunny climates, (the Sun Belt) like Texas. This is often mentioned in various forums, usually related to automotive painting.

I'll get right to the point:

In the 1980s a lot of experimentation and applications were being done with primers containing zinc, ie, accelerated corrosion testing and marine applications in ships and on bridges. Inorganic zinc worked the best.

Quoted from a technical paper, 'ZINC RICH PRIMERS FOR
CORROSION PROTECTION,'
http://www.elzly.com/docs/Ault_Zinc_Rich_Paper.pdf
If you read the paper, 'vehicle types' refers to the different chemical mixtures of the primer [which is] what carries and deposits the zinc, "the vehicle"

In other words, although that seems like a LOT of zinc, the zinc in the final dried film is much heavier than the dried primer that carried the zinc so the percentage of zinc by weight seems like more than it actually is. However it is a significant amount of zinc!

Under certain conditions the zinc can be visible in the primer coating and mistaken for light galvanizing which it is NOT.

In fact, I recall now that while heating a dented area by my left tail light and tailgate hinge with an oxyacetylene torch to straighten it out, it produced a white or yellowish white oxidation product when the primer burned which in my experience is very characteristic of ZINC. But it is not hot dipped galvanized.

I tried to get a good photo of this 'galvanized appearance' late yesterday and didn't have time to make camera settings to capture it best and the sun was not in the best position but I'll put one or two of those photos up in a post that follows this one.

So, to make a long story short, I'm fairly sure that what you saw was a zinc-rich primer that contained a significant amount of zinc. The silver-like paint colors during the 1980s-1990s in very sunny hot climates were notorious for peeling and that's where you will most likely observe this zinc in the primer. After the primer becomes exposed to weathering and the surface layers of the primer begin to oxidize and wear away and it takes on some water staining which makes some patterns and lines, it can appear quite similar to a light weight galvanized coating. In areas where it has been rubbed like on the top edges of the fenders and when in bright sunlight it can take on a shiny appearance here and there resembling a light galvanizing.

I was actually fooled by that 'similarity' when I first saw it until I gradually came to my senses and realized that this can't possibly be standard galvanizing and it isn't. It's a great corrosion resistant primer though, even after the paint peels off. I think it's most evident in the silver-colored paints that have been exposed to a lot of direct sunlight and peel off. I would suspect that this was the color of the truck in question?

This is speculation but in my personal experience with my 87, since the XLT Lariat was the top of the line and most expensive model, having a few added extras, at least in terms of available 'options,' I had wondered if this particular primer was used in the XLT Lariats and not used in other less expensive models. If someone is buying the most expensive brand new truck I think they should expect that it's not going to have rust problems and I'm certain that the manufacturers, all historically based in the Rust Belt States are very well aware of that, so using a very good quality 'zinc rich' corrosion resistant primer, at some additional manufacturing cost makes perfect sense. If that was the case then the XLT Lariats and possibly a couple of other more expensive models would tend to show less rust than the less expensive models.

If that is the case, then people who live in the 'rust belt' of the USA and deal alot with these older trucks might notice this.

After reading most of that paper, in corrosive environments such as marine environments, these zinc rich primers only added about 3-5 years of effective rust protection. Probably longer in motor vehicle applications.

One last important observation: I learned that during the long wet and rainy Pacific Northwest winters (Western Washington) that mild surface rust appearing where paint and primer has oxidized and worn off to the extent that moisture reaches the metal, a light surface rust progresses to pitting rust very rapidly. Probably in only 1 to 3 years here, more rapidly if the environment is very close to a coastline of salt water and also more rapidly in the 'salt belt' where salt is used on the roads in winter. I think it is very important to remove surface rust and treat/protect those areas ASAP to prevent pitting and eventual rust through.

I also found that over the counter "spray can" "automotive primers" that I used didn't protect those surfaces through one winter season! That includes "RUST-OLEUM Professional Primer." and I also used 'automotive primer' but I don't recall what brand. The surface rust reappeared. Now I have to sand it down and redo it again before winter.

I can't afford to paint the truck this year and when I do I will be certain to use a very good quality zinc-rich primer. I will also have to fill in the rust-pitted spots during the prep work for a good quality paint job. MEANWHILE, I will have to find a zinc-rich primer in a spray can or I'm going to have to set up a compressor and paint gun and buy some professional corrosion resistant primer. I'll probably have to coat either of those with paint and clear coat, probably from spray cans. I only want it to last at least until I can afford to paint the whole truck which may be another year or longer.

Sorry this post is so long. NO TIME to edit it!

 

I can only put up one of several photos I took to try to show this 'galvanized appearance' described in my previous post. I'm concerned that I might be reaching my free membership limit on how many megabytes of photos I can post.

Although I could get better pictures, I hope this is good enough to show what I posted about.

This picture shows the top edge of the drivers side fender, late day with sun low in the sky probably an hour before sunset.

That fender shows original, 23 years of sun-baked peeled off clear coat and paint followed with 7 years of water oxidation from rain in the Pacific Northwest. The HOOD is NOT from California. It is from a 1991 F350, SAME COLOR but on a truck that spent it's lifetime with rainy winters in western Washington.

This photo has not been altered in any way to enhance it, other than I had to reduce the resolution a bit to bring the file size down so it's slightly less clear. My camera was not set for a high quality close up images. In real life, the lighter more oxidized areas on the grey primer have slightly more resemblance to galvanizing then this photo shows.




Also there are much larger areas on the truck (ie, bed side panels) that have a different quality of appearance and due to water staining also could easily be mistaken for a light galvanizing.

I hope this helps to solve the mystery.

 

PS: Anyone who was a professional or experienced automotive painter during that era, perhaps more-so in the "Sun Belt" and was familiar with the technology of the primers relating to zinc content could probably confirm most of this.

When I was working with metals back in 1979 through 1980's I didn't know of any method, including acid etching that could adequately treat and prepare hot dip galvanized steel to accept any kind of paint that would last very long (maybe 3-5 years max) which was not anywhere near acceptable for metal exposed to outdoor elements. Architects specified 20 year warranties on external metal finishes, baked enamel or otherwise. For hot dipped galvanized steel, the galvanizing itself was the final finish and the weight of the galvanizing was specified in accordance with the application and it's exposure to weather and/or corrosive environments.
There was a coating, "Paint Grip" that was sometimes called 'paint-grip galvanized' but it wasn't true galvanizing which is a metallurgical bond. It was just a coating.

 

1984 FORD F-SERIES TRUCK UPDATES
After thirty years, Ford eliminated the F-100 designation from its line of F-Series trucks, replacing it with F-150.

The 5.8L V-8 was upgraded to a "High Output" engine with a 4 barrel carburetor, new camshaft, larger air cleaner and low restriction dual exhaust system. The result was a jump from 163 hp and 267 lb.ft. torque to 210 hp and 304 lb.ft. of torque.

Other engine changes:

Ford equipped the 4.9L 6-cylinder, 5.0L V-8, and the base 5.8L V-8 engines with EEC-IV electronic engine control.
The 3.8L V-6 engine was dropped from the F-Series lineup.
This year, Ford began to use pre-coated steel and additional galvanized panels to help fight rust and corrosion.

A new clutch safety switch kept the engine from cranking unless the clutch pedal was fully depressed. The F-Series key-in-ignition warning buzzer became standard equipment.

 

1980 Ford F150

The seventh generation of the Ford F-Series is a line of pickup trucks and medium-duty commercial trucks that was produced by Ford from 1979 to 1986. For the first time since 1965, the pickup trucks were based upon a completely new chassis and body. Distinguished by its squarer look, sharper lines and flatter panels, the trucks were designed with improved fuel efficiency in mind; to this end, Ford added its new AOD automatic overdrive (four-speed) transmission as an option on light-duty models. The 4-speed manual and 3-speed C6 automatic transmission were retained from previous years. To increase longevity, Ford increased the use of galvanized body panels to fight corrosion. Pickup trucks were available in three body styles: regular cab, SuperCab extended cab or crew cab with two bed lengths. The crew cab trucks were very large, stretching nearly 20 feet long with an eight-foot bed. These trucks are considered amongst enthusiasts to be the last generation of great trucks built by Ford and are now beginning to become popular amongst restorers as the models have just reached classic car status. They are typically considered to be the last of the “classic” Ford trucks, due to the fact it had features such as glass headlights.
1980 ford f150 3

 

1978 F-150 Lariat did have Galvanized bed!! But had to be ordered that way!!