GALFAN is a Zinc 5% Aluminium alloy with a mischmetal addition that, when applied as a coating on steel offers an improvement over the performance of regular or lead free galvanized steel. GALFAN is a patented alloy and registered trademark, both of which are owned by International Lead Zinc Research Organization.

Galvanizing protects the underlying steel in two ways. First, the coating material acts as a passive barrier and prevents corrosive elements from reaching the steel. The second and more important method of protection is the cathodic or sacrificial characteristic of the Zinc in the galvanizing. Even when scratching or cutting exposes the underlying steel, the surrounding Zinc will corrode first rather than the exposed steel. Aluminium corrodes more slowly than Zinc so it provides a better passive barrier but it does not have the superior cathodic qualities of Zinc. GALFAN combines the strength of both Zinc and Aluminium resulting in a far more corrosion resistant coating.

The useful life of the corrosion protection on steel depends on the total thickness loss over time – less loss means longer life for the product.

Long-term testing of GALFAN steel by Center de Recherches Metallurgiques, New Zealand Steel, and N.V. Bekaert all show that the corrosion resistance of GALFAN steel is about twice that of regular galvanizing.