Galvanized steel wire Vs. Brass

[Carleroo]

I had been using brass wire for some of my scratch-build projects - mainly pipes and railings on train cars. Much of this wire was leftovers from previous projects. I am now building an 1830 locomotive and discovered that I can replace some of the brass, which I had used for steam engine pipes, with galvanized steel wire. I had many of these that I had used for hanging picture frames, garden ornaments, and other various repairs. They come in various thicknesses and are very cheap. One roll is about $4 CDN in the local hardware store. The wire is quite malleable and seems like a good replacement for the brass, especially for those "pipes" where I want to keep the natural steel colour, so no need to paint.

 

[Y.T.]

This wire will ultimately rust especially at the ends where you cut it unless you find way to rust protect it. Besides to my taste galvanized steel finish looks ugly.

 

[Carleroo]

This wire will ultimately rust especially at the ends where you cut it unless you find way to rust protect it. Besides to my taste galvanized steel finish looks ugly.

For my purposes - plain pipes that would stand in for plumbing applications, it looks quite genuine. I had thought about the rust possibilities but I have used this wire to attach outdoor fixtures, and decorations for years. Some of them have been exposed to the elements, and so far, no evidence of rusting. Perhaps at the ends - I never looked closely - but in my projects, the ends of the "pipes" will be buried in the walls and floors of my models. I still like the look of brass, but for some of my projects, the steel might work OK.