Thanks guys, and thanks Weldtech for the question, added a little to my info base.
Bottom line for myself is still to prep the material properly. Sounds like way too much time, effort, expense, and trouble to try and find out what kind of paint was used so I could properly qualify a PQR and then still need, as js suggested, an engineer's approval anyway.
To compare with galv, I have always preferred to clean as much of that out of the way as possible to get to clean steel with as little smoke as possible. Already had zinc poisoning once when young, what a pain.
If you want the highest quality, with the most frequency, with the least effort and expense, clean your parts properly and don't try to cheat the code and the inspector.
Just my own conclusions from the code and your responses to Weldtech and I.
Have a Great Day, Brent