Protection and decoration through paint - Anti-corrosion paints

After defining the main paint constituents in the article [M 1 505] , this dossier examines the general properties of anticorrosive paint films. The variety of binders available makes it possible to design both air-drying and oven-drying paints.

In air-drying paints, the chemical reactions that produce a film-forming layer on the metal substrate take place without any external energy input. In oven-drying paints, on the other hand, energy in the form of heat is essential to enable the cross-linking reactions to take place.

Oven paints have a special feature:

• to be presented in a single pack, given their stability at room temperature;

• produce paint films with improved mechanical properties (surface hardness, scratch resistance, etc.) compared to those obtained with air-drying paints;

• reduce storage areas on production sites, given the speed with which paint film cross-links with metal substrates.

To better understand these differences, the main properties of these paints are summarized in the tables 1 to 5 .

Readers are reminded that a subsequent dossier, [M 1 507] , deals with paint application equipment.