Galvanized steel is seen all over the place.  It is the little orphan workhorse of the metal finishes world- unglamorous and dependable, the hot dipped layer of zinc deposited on steel forms Zinc Oxide, the progressing to Zinc Carbonate once it hangs out with the steel long enough. If you think about where you see it, it is usually in very practical applications: agricultural silos and tanks, “tin” roofing, garden watering cans, pails, and chain-link fence.

I looked around to see if I could find examples of galvanized steel in applications where aesthetics play a more important role, but really couldn’t find much. One thing that might deter its use in more obscure applications is that welding it creates harmful fumes, so your one off- applications are less than easy.  I want to see a galvanized motorcycle tank, and that is just the start of my list.  There is something about that crystaline finish that is worth using, especially since it is so unpretentious.  Stephen Atkinson made nice architectural use of galvanized roofing here, Nicholas Murcutt made beautiful use of a galvanized agricultural tank on his “Box House” project, below.

I have not seen to many examples of galvanized steel used in furniture, though you do see it used for greenhouse potting tables from time to time. I have seen it used for some Ikea items, but one of the better uses of it that I have seen comes from Piet Van Eek, who I really admire, his cabinet below…

Here is an unusual application, on a Citroen…

And several more examples of the finish…

Formed sheet aluminum has the ability to make me weak with a greedy, covetous feeling. Here are a few nice examples:

1949 Petermax Muller , set on Flickr

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