Zinc-coating existing countertop

[tew1]

Hi, I've seen images online of fairly farmhouse-style old fashioned tables e.g. the free-standing kitchen unit type, which have a thin sheet of zinc coated onto the table top, bend over the sides, and nailed at the sides:
http://www.1stdibs.com/furniture/tables/console-tables/antique-zinc-top-work-table/id-f_691272/
You can get large sheets of thin pre-weathered zinc online for next to nothing. Does anyone have any idea how easy/difficult it would be to use an existing chipboard formica worktop, and coat it with zinc like this? What about the joins along the length of the worktop, I was thinking of using something like this:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/STAINLESS...NING-STRIP-DIVIDER-BAR-2-5m-8ft-/320959138475 (I will not be able to weld it!). But I'm not sure what would happen at the edge. Can you think of a better way of joining? Also, for a kitchen worktop application, how practical would this be for everyday cleaning? Could you paint the zinc with a clear lacquer?
thanks

 

[pinenot]

What about paining the surface with a zinc paint and possibly distressing it to look old? Otherwise if you still want to go down the sheet metal route, zinc roofs are dressed with folded seams, which if you could duplicate would look different...pinenot

P.S. search faux zinc finishing for tips on painting/coating

 

[Burnerman]

I tink it all depends on how good a finish you want it to be......zinc is galvanised onto mild steel sheet more often than not, so any scrapes on the galvanising would show up as rust.
Also, turning thew edges down may give you more hammer marks than you want - which may make it look like an engineers bench!
Galvanised steel is horrible (and poisonous) to weld - the zinc vapourises away and needs to be retreated, so a joining strip is correct.
Zinc primers are very good - but of course the surface is soft so that would have to be taken into consideration too.
If you do decide to go ahead, what gauge (thickness) of sheet are you considering?
John