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Hot dip galvanize is a globby, sloppy process as far as auto frames are concerned. Go look at chain link fence hardware at your home center to see how it looks. Do you even know where it could be done? A better approach would be to electroplate in zinc but that is not practical. After zinc coating, it is difficult to get paint to stick to the coating for very long. My suggestion is to have the frame powder coated. Can be done in any color of the rainbow, FAR superior appearance to zinc and will last as long or longer. Probably cheaper too.

 

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Kevin; I have done a BUNCH of powder caoting and haven't experienced ANY chipping whatsoever. In fact, I have real trouble getting the stuff off when I want to weld in a spot! Maybe you need to change supplier. POR15 and ZeroRust (urethane based coatings) are good options also but color choice is limited. They work best if there is a coat of rust on the surface of the steel. Clean steel doesn't seem to cover as well in my experience. I like the PC option because not only do I get a great coating but my parts are sand blasted to white metal - as clean as you can get - and the electrostatically charged coating migrates into every hole and crevis, even goes deep inside hidden areas tht sprays won't reach.

 

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That is all a function of painting technique. If you spray POR 15 you won't get any inside the frame. To do that, you will need to roll, brush, be creative about getting contact inside there. BIG caution with POR 15; it is a urethane so permenently stains ANYTHING it comes in contact with, inclucing cement, skin, wood. IF you do this, do it over a dirt surface with full body protection!

Conversely, powder coating is sprayed on as an electrostatically charged powder so it will seek out ANY bare steel surface, thus will migrate all the way into hidden channels and coat them. Do you get the feeling I like powder coating?!?