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As a consumer I can buy gold leaf for around $10 per square meter. Estimates that I have seen are that the big cargo ships are around 400 meters long and 50 me
by btilly 7y ago
As a consumer I can buy gold leaf for around $10 per square meter.
Estimates that I have seen are that the big cargo ships are around 400 meters long and 50 meters deep. I'm not sure their surface area, but let's call it 60,000 square meters. (22,0000 for each side of a wall of those dimensions, and some amount for the bottom. So to gold plate it is a half-million dollars. https://www.quora.com/How-much-does-it-cost-to-fuel-a-cargo-ship https://www.quora.com/How-much-does-it-cost-to-fuel-a-cargo-... estimates $130,000 per day for a ship under power.
If gold plating worked, lasted, and didn't leave damage, someone would have figured out that it was worthwhile to do already. So if you deal with it professionally, by all means look into it. But I wouldn't be too hopeful.
- DuskStar 7y agoI can't wait for some billionaire to do this with their megayacht. Who cares if it's not cost efficient!
- heavenlyblue 7y ago>> As a consumer I can buy gold leaf for around $10 per square meter. That leaf is probably an order of magnitude (if not two) thinner than your kitchen foil.
- btilly 7y agoYes. In fact gold leaf is 0.1 microns. Standard aluminum foil is 0.016 mm = 16 microns. So 160 times thinner, or about 2 orders of magnitude. When used to gild buildings in air, it typically lasts 40-50 years. Of course a ship's hull in water is likely to be a much more hostile environment...
- heavenlyblue 7y ago>> When used to gild buildings in air, it typically lasts 40-50 years. Of course a ship's hull in water is likely to be a much more hostile environment... But gilding is a purely ornamental technique. It's not there to defend the lower layers from elements.
- btilly 7y agoThank you for the explanation of WHY it is likely to be a much more hostile environment.