Zam on steel?

Jewelry Discussion
1

Hi, my little brother is building a steel project box from
galvanized steel that he ground the zinc coating off of. Now he
wants to polish it using a Dremel flex shaft. Is Zam a good choice
for this?

thanks, Elaine Luther Chicago area, Illinois, USA Metalsmith, Certified
PMC Instructor Studio 925; established 1992 @E_Luther

2

Elaine, I don’t think Zam will do the job. Suggest you go to the
local hardware store and get a bar of black emery. It should do the
trick. Cheers from Don at The Charles Belle Studio in SOFL where
simple elegance IS fine jewelry! @coralnut2

3 
Hi, my little brother is building a steel project box from
galvanized steel that he ground the zinc coating off of. Now he
wants to polish it using a Dremel flex shaft. Is Zam a good choice
for this? "

Hi, Elaine, I’m not really an authority on this, but I’ve been
learning welding for the last year. The thing that took the most
getting used to is how hard steel is. You can use heavy steel wire
brushes and such that would essentially disintegrate silver, brass,
etc, and the steel is barely touched. As a result, I doubt zam would
do much of anything. Wire brushes in a heavy-duty drill would be a
good start, or very coarse sandpaper discs. “Flap-wheels”, which
have many overlapping layers of sandpaper are good, because a single
layer wears out in no time flat. These things are found at home
centers, hardware stores or welding supply stores. After sanding
finer and finer, steel wool (again, in a power tool if you don’t
want to spend your life on it) will probably give a great final
finish. Doing any of this with a dremel is possible, I guess, with
enough patience. I think I’d do it by hand-- it’d be faster! If it
were I, though, I would experiment with sanded finishes. The motion
lines make beatiful, eye-catching swirls. Regardless, unless it is
stainless, it will have to be coated to prevent rust, even indoors.
The clear finish choices are the same as for non-ferrous metals. HTH!
Tell him good luck! --Noel

4 
     Hi, my little brother is building a steel project box from
galvanized steel.......

Elaine go to the archive and have your brother read this article Zam
is not the best choice for galvanized steel

John T. (Jack) Fisher 4309 Casa Blanca Dr Georgetown, TX 78628 Phone
512-930-5666 Fax 512-930-5666