ST.

ANN’S COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY

UNIT – IV
PROTECTIVE COATINGS AND THEIR APPLICATIONS

Protective coatings function as a continuous physical barrier between the coated surface
and the environment. Besides corrosion protection, it also acts as a decorative smooth
polished surface. Protective coatings can be broadly classified as
Types of Coatings:
1) inorganic coatings which are mainly metallic coatings and chemical conversion
coatings
2) organic coatings which include paints, varnish, enamels and lacquers

The protective coating on the surface of the metal can be classified as follows:
1) metallic coatings
2) chemical conversion coatings
3) organic coatings and linings
4) ceramic protective coatings

Surface Preparation: generally metal surfaces are covered with rust, oxide scales, oil,
grease, dust etc. These substances if present during coating produce porous,
discontinuous or nonadherent coatings. So these unwanted substances covering the
metal should be removed perfectly before giving protective coating.

1) Mechanical cleaning: these methods are useful in removing loose scale and
rust. The different methods are hammering, wire – brushing, grinding etc and
these kinds of operations are done by instruments like hammer, knife, bristle
brush etc.
2) Sand blasting: is a technique of cleaning larger area of surface to produce
roughness for the good adherence of the protective coating. In this process sand
along with air stream under a pressure of 25-100 atmospheres is focused on the
metal surface.
3) Solvent Cleaning: These methods are mainly used for removing oil, grease, rust
etc. solvent cleaning is one of the methods adopted for cleaning the base metal
surfaces before giving protective coating. Alcohols, xylene, chlorinated
hydrocarbons etc are generally used for solvent cleaning
4) Alkali Cleaning: This method is usually useful in removing old paint coatings
soluble in alkaline medium. Chemicals used in this process are sodium hydroxide,
sodium silicate etc. After alkali cleaning it is followed by washing with 1% chromic
acid solution.
5) Acid pickling and Etching: another important method of surface cleaning is acid
pickling process. In this process the base metal is dipped inside the acid solution
at a higher temperature for a longer duration. Acids like sulphuric acid, hydrogen
chloride, nitric acid are used under dilute conditions

Metallic Coatings: are of two types namely anodic type coating and cathodic type
coating
Anodic Coatings: are produced from coating metals which are anodic to the base metal
which is to be protected. For example coating of Zn, Al and Cd on steel are anodic
because their electrode potentials are lower than that of the base metal, iron. If any
pores occur in such an anodic coating, a galvanic cell is formed between the coating
metal and exposed part of base metal
Galvanization: is the process of coating iron or steel sheets with a thin coat of zinc to
prevent them from rusting. In this process the iron or steel (base metal) is first cleaned
by acid pickling using dilute sulphuric acid (60-90oC) for 15-20 minutes. The base metal
is then dipped in molten zinc maintained at 415 -430 oC. The surface of the bath is
covered with ammonium chloride flux to prevent oxide formation on the surface of
molten zinc. The coated base metal is then passed through rollers to correct the
thickness of the film and finally annealed at a temperature of 250 oC and slowly cooled
Galvanizing is mainly used for the protection of iron from atmospheric corrosion in the
form of sheets, wires, pipes, bolts, screws etc. since some of the zinc compounds are
poisonous, galvanized utensils can’t be used for preparing or storing food stuffs

Cathodic Coatings: are obtained by coating a more noble metal which is having higher
electrode potential than the base metal. Cathodic coating provides effective protection to
the base metal only when they are completely continuous, and free from pores, breaks
or discontinuities. If such coatings are punctured, much more corrosion damages can be
done to the base metal than to metal without it.

Tinning: is coating tin over the iron or steel articles. The process consists in first
treating steel sheet in dilute sulphuric acid to remove any oxide film. After this, it is
passed through a bath of molten tin covered with flux of zinc chloride. After coating of
tin, the sheet is passed through palm oil. The palm oil protects the immediate tin coated
hot surface against oxidation. Finally the sheet is passed through rollers to produce the
thin coat of tin of uniform thickness

Metal cladding: is the process by which a homogeneous layer of coating is bonded

firmly and permanently to the base metal on one or both sides. Cu, Ni, Al, Ag, Pt are
some of the metals used as coat metal sheets in metal cladding. Generally cladding is
accomplished by arranging thin sheets of the coating metal and the base metal sheet in
the form of a sandwich which are then passed through rollers, under the action of heat
and pressure.

Metal spraying: in this process the coating metal in the molten state is sprayed on the
roughened surface of the base metal. The metal thus sprayed adheres to be the base
metal surface. The sprayed coatings are continuous but somewhat porous. Consequently
a sealer oil is applied on such a coating to provide smooth surface. The process offers
certain advantages over the other methods, due to its
1) greater speed of working
2) applicability to large surfaces
3) ease of application
sprayed coatings can be applied by the following two techniques:
a) wire gun method
b) powder metal method

Cementation: this type of coatings is obtained by heating the base metal in a revolving
drum containing a powder of the coating metal. Diffusion of coating metal into base
metal takes place, resulting in the formation of layers of alloy. This process is suitable
for coating small articles like bolts, screw, valves etc. The coating metals for iron are
zinc, chromium and aluminium

Sheradizing: is the process of cementation using zinc powder as the coat metal on iron
articles of base metal. In this process primarily the iron articles are cleaned by acid
pickling and the articles are packed up inside zinc dust kept in a drum. The drum is
closed tightly and rotated with constant heating (350-3700c) for 2 to 3 hours. During this
process zinc gets diffused into iron and forms an alloy of Fe – Zn on the surface of iron
articles. Sheradizing produces uniform coating on small iron articles like bolt, nut, screws
etc

Colorizing: is the process of cementation using a mixture of aluminium and aluminium

oxide powder of coat metal over the base metal. In this process a mixture of aluminium
and aluminium oxide powder are tightly packed in the drum and the base metal articles
are immersed inside coat metal powder. With constant heating drum is rotated for a
particular time period and alloy layers of composition Al3Fe2 are formed on the surface of
the base metal.
Chromizing: is the process of cementation using a mixture of 55% chromium powder
and 45% alumina powder of coat metal over the base metal. In this process the mixture
of the coat metal powder is tightly packed in a drum with the base metal parts placed
inside it. The drum with constant rotation at a temperature of about 1300-14000c for 3
to 4 hours will produce the chrome alloy layer on the surface of the base metal which
protects the metal against corrosion.

Chemical Conversion Coatings: chemical conversion coatings are inorganic barriers

produced by chemical or electrochemical reactions brought about at the surface of the
base metal. There are mainly four kinds of such coatings
1) Phosphate coating
2) Chromate coating
3) Chemical oxide coating
4) Anodize coating

Phosphate coating: are produced by the chemical reaction of base metal with aqueous
solution of phosphoric acid and phosphate. The metallic phosphate solutions used are
generally phosphates of iron, manganese and zinc. Catalysts are also added along with
the solution to increase the rate of reactions. These coatings are mainly applied on iron
and steel materials. The chemical reaction between the phosphate solution and the base
metal results in the formation Zinc – iron or manganese – iron phosphate coatings on
metallic surfaces. The phosphate coatings can’t offer complete corrosion resistance and
hence they are mainly used as primers for further coatings.

Chromate coating: are coatings produced by immersing the base metal in a bath of
potassium chromate followed by immersion in a bath of neutral chromate solution.
Chromate coatings are a mixture of trivalent and hexa valent chromium coatings.
Chromate coatings can be obtained in various colour shades.

Anodized Coatings: are generally produced on non ferrous metals like Al, Zn, Mg and
their alloys by anodic oxidation process, in which the base metal is made as anode. It is
carried out by passing a moderate direct electric current through a bath in which metal is
suspended from anode. The bath usually contains sulphuric, chromic, phosphoric or
oxalic acid

Organic Coatings:
Paint: is a mechanical dispersion mixture of one or more pigments in a vehicle. The
vehicle is a liquid, consisting of non volatile, film forming material, drying oil, and a
highly volatile solvent, thinner. When paint is applied on a metallic surface, first the
thinner evaporates followed by the slow oxidation and polymerization of the drying oil.
Requirements of good paint:
1) a good paint should spread easily over the base surface and should possess high
covering power
2) it should produce a tough, adherent, impervious stable film
3) it should be easily applicable with brush or spraying device to produce a smooth
and uniform surface
4) The paint film should not crack or peel out after its application and function as a
strong protective barrier against corrosive atmosphere.

Constituents of paints
1. Pigment: is a solid substance which is an essential constituent of paint. Its functions
are to
a) Provide capacity to paint
b) Provide desired color to paint
c) Give protection to the paint film by reflecting harmful UV light
d) Provide desired color to paint
Pigments can be broadly classified as 1) inorganic pigments 2) organic pigments. But
they are studied mainly based on their color. It is also divided into 1) white pigments 2)
coloured pigments
Examples for white pigments: ZnS, ZnO, CaSO4
2) Vehicle or drying oil: is a film forming constituent of the paint. The most widely
used drying oil are linseed oil, soyabean oil etc. functions of drying oils are
a) Main film forming constituent
b) Toughness
c) Adhesion
d) Durability
e) Water proofness
3) Thinners: Functions of thinners are
a) Reduce the viscosity of the paint
b) Dissolve vehicle and the additives in the vehicle
c) Suspend the pigments
d) Help the drying of the paint film
Common thinners are turpentine, mineral spirits etc
4) Driers: are oxygen carrier catalysts. They accelerate the drying of the oil film
through oxidation, polymerization and condensation. Its main function is to improve the
drying quality of the oil film. The most effective driers are resinates, tungstates of Co,
Mn, Pb and Zn
5) Extenders or fillers: functions of extenders are
a) Reduces the cost
b) Increase durability of the paint
c) Serve to fill voids in the film
d) Help to reduce the cracking of dry paint film
Important extenders are asbestos, gypsum, china-clay etc
6) Plasticizers: sometimes, plasticizers are incorporated in the paint
a) To provide elasticity to the film
b) To minimize its cracking
7) Antiskinning agents: are sometimes, added to some paints with the object of
preventing gelling and skinning of the paint film. Important Antiskinning agents are
polyhydroxyl phenols