Inorganic Zinc-Rich

Coatings and
Galvanizing:
A Comparison
by Gordon H. Brevoort
Brevoort Consulting Associates, Inc.
Much confusion still exists about the merits of using
zinc-rich coatings or hot-dip galvanizing on new steel
structures. There are arguments in favor of one or the
other, sometimes based on exaggerated claims or
supposed success stories, but seldom on fact.
How do the 2 really compare, specifically in
protection, in corrosion rates, in service life (same
environment), in cost, and in ease of specifying and
use?
Both galvanizing and zinc-rich coatings have strengths
and limitations and slight differences in performance.
What are the differences, and how do they affect the
decision to use one or the other in a part icular
circumstance?
This article will consider the basics of zinc chemistry,
characteristics, and use. It will also supply general
guide-lines to aid the specifying engineer. Prime
attention will be given to un-topcoated finishes.
The need for topcoating will also be addressed.
Discussion of zinc-rich coatings will be confined to
inorganic zinc (IOZ) materials with a minimum of 85
percent by weight zinc in the dried film for both
solvent- and water-borne types. Comparisons will be
made with after-fabrication, hot-dip galvanizing.
Editor’s Note: The following article is adapt-ed
with permission from “Inorganic Zinc-Rich
Coatings Vs. Galvanizing,” first pub-lished
in Modern Steel Construction,
December 1995, pp. 46-50.
The Starting Point
Properly applied to clean steel, zinc, whether in the
form of hot-dip galvanizing or an inorganic zincrich
coating, offers basically the same protection,
corrosion rate, and life. The voluminous data on
corrosion
rates and resistance supplied by The Zinc Institute
do not distinguish the form of the zinc: galvanizing,
zinc-rich, metallizing, zinc plating, zinc anodes, or
other forms.1
The Role of Zinc as a Protective
Coating
Zinc protects steel in several ways, including
sacrificial protection and barrier protection. The
degree of protection afforded also depends on the
environment to which the zinc-coated steel is
exposed.
One critical protective mechanism of zinc is
sacrificial protection. Zinc is higher than steel in the
galvanic series. The practical significance of this
relationship is that when zinc and steel are
connected in the presence of an electrolyte, the zinc
will sacrifice itself preferentially to the steel, thus
corroding before the steel.2 The rate of corrosion of
the zinc used as galvanic or cathodic protection
depends on the amount of water present, the
conductivity of the water, the average temperature,
and the amount of zinc exposed. Zinc will not last
very long in complete water immersion or
continuous high humidity. Zinc loss is even faster in
hot water up to 140 F (60 C).
Between 140 and 250 F (60 C and 121 C), zinc can
reverse polarity and actually con-tribute to, rather
than inhibit, the corrosion of steel.
The zinc acts as a barrier coat between the
atmosphere or other environment and the steel
substrate.
The ability of zinc to form a barrier is enhanced by
the
zinc corrosion process. Zinc, being more active than
steel, corrodes faster than steel but lasts longer. How
is this possible? Zinc produces protective corrosion
byproducts that result from the reaction with oxygen,
carbon dioxide, and moisture in the air.
The corrosion byproducts are zinc oxides,
hydroxides, and carbonate salts. The zinc coating
must dry periodically to adequately form these
protective salts. These hard, in -soluble zinc salts
cause the film to swell
and convert into an effective barrier coat, sealing off
the corrosives from the steel and slowing the
corrosion attack on the zinc to about 1 as that of the
corrosion rate of iron.
This effect can be observed when a zinc coating
changes color to a darker gray.
In addition, the amount of zinc ex-posed determines
the consumption of zinc.
Inorganic zinc-rich coatings with less than half of the
ounces of zinc exposed per sq ft (grams of zinc per sq
m) hold up as well as galvanizing. The entire top
layer of zinc in galvanizing is exposed all of the time,
while in an inorganic zinc coating, the silicate binder
partially shields or insulates the zinc particles. As
Munger explains, the protective mechanism of the
zinc is metered over a longer period of time.3
Both methods form zinc salts that protect the zinc.
These insoluble zinc salts are not affected by
sunlight; deterioration comes from abrasion or slow
weathering.
Zinc is also “self healing.” When the protective film
of zinc salt is broken, more salts form from the free
zinc exposed until all of the zinc is used.4
This mechanism helps explain the ability of
inorganic zinc-rich coatings and galvanizing to
tolerate scrapes, scratches, and gouges by forming
their own protective films. This ability of inorganic
zinc to protect damaged steel by preferential
corrosion of the zinc instead of the steel is known as
throwing power. It extends about 1 in. (6 mm) from
the break.
Corrosion Rates of Zinc in
Various Environments
Zinc performs best in neutral environments (pH
7±1). It is more susceptible to acids (pH < 6) than
alkalis (pH > 10.5). Both in-organic zinc and
galvanizing will resist solvent fume or spill
environments. How-ever,
they have limited resistance to chlorides, sulfides,
and alkalis, and the performance of each will be
affected by the combinations of contaminants in the
exposure
environment.
For example, in an 11-year test fence evaluation of a
variety of zinc-rich systems, untopcoated zinc-rich
primers gave overall superior rust and scribe
undercutting resistance at a marine exposure site
compared to an industrial site.5
Figure 1 shows the performance of zinc in a
combined marine-industrial environment. The tenyear-
old guardrail in poor condition is directly
opposite a refinery/chemical plant on the New
Jersey seacoast.
The Zinc Institute’s 1971 booklet, Zinc
Coatings for Corrosion Protection, explains why the
zinc does not stand up well in a marine-industrial
environment. In marine atmospheres, the air is
contaminated with water that contains high levels of
sodium chloride. In urban and industrial settings,
the main atmospheric pollutants are oxides of
sulfur.
When they are dissolved in water, these oxides form
sulfuric acid, which then reacts with the zinc
hydroxide or zinc carbonate found on the zinccoated
surface.
This reaction yields zinc sulfate, a highly soluble
salt. Rain easily washes away the zinc sulfate,
exposing the zinc underneath and making it
vulnerable to chlorides and similar contaminants.1
Anticipated Life of
Zinc Coatings
As described above, life expectancy of a zinc
coating will depend on the exposure environment.
Data for both hot-dip galvanizing and inorganic
zinc coatings applied to structural steel at the same
thickness
(3.4 mils [86 micrometers]) are presented in Table 1,
summarizing the corrosion behavior based on
twenty-year-exposure data of ASTM.
These data are generally borne out by the data
presented in Table 2, which compiles 87 power
companies’ experience of average service life based
on the years before the first painting of galvanized
substations.
In mild environments within the 6-10.5 pH range,
advocates of both galvanizing and zinc-rich coatings
can point to structures that have performed without
top-coating for more than 20 years. Examples of
structures protected with a single coat of
inorganic zinc for more than 20 years include an
assembly building at Cape Canaveral, a highway
bridge near the Florida coast, and a refinery in
Japan. Galvanizing examples include a Canadian
bridge, a
polyethylene plant on the Gulf Coast, and power
transmission towers in the rural Southeastern
United States.
In the 11-year study cited previously, topcoated
and untopcoated inorganic zinc-rich systems
gave approximately equivalent performances in
marine and industrial environments.5
Galvanized and thermal-sprayed zinc systems
were also exposed at the industrial site only
For untopcoated systems, the inorganic zinc and
thermal spray zinc system performances were
about equal and slightly better than galvanizing.
For topcoated systems, the thermal spray system
was slightly better than the inorganic zinc and
galvanized systems, which were about equal.
When and Where to Use
Galvanizing and IOZ
The use of galvanizin g is limited to new structures
or replacement pieces and the availability of
galvanizers with adequate size galvanizing kettles or
tanks. Most galvanizing is accomplished with
fabricated pieces before erection or final fabrication.
Small pieces, open-web floor grating, ladders, and
handrails are much more easily galvanized than
coated with inorganic zinc.
Zinc-rich coatings can be applied to new or old
structures on the ground, in the shop, or in place.
Their use is cost-effective on large structural pieces,
pipes,
plate steel, large vessels, and irregular shapes, The
decision to use zinc-rich coatings on new
construction can be made at any time without
disrupting new construction schedules.
General advantages and disadvantages of each are
listed in the boxes above and on 6
Organic Zinc-Rich Coatings
With an organic binder such as epoxy,
zinc-rich coatings have some but not all of
the desirable properties of inorganic zincrich
coatings.
Chemical resistance depends
on the binder used. In general, organic
zinc-rich coatings have greater tolerance for
marginally prepared surfaces, may be applied
under widely varying weather conditions, and can
easily be topcoated.
Their adhesion characteristics are those of the
organic
binder used. Galvanic protection is reduced, since
the organic binder greatly insulates the zinc particles
from one another and the atmosphere. The service
life of
untopcoated organic zinc is substantially shorter
than that of inorganic zinc because zinc salts do not
form to protect the coating.
However, if topcoated, organic zinc-rich primers
will generally perform as well as the same system
based on an inorganic zinc-rich primer in ambient
temperature
service. In some chemical environments, organic
systems will actually perform better.
Organic zinc systems have all the weather resistance
characteristics of the organic binder. They may
blister in areas of high humidity or in water
immersion. Heat
resistance is usually below 300 F (149 C), depending
on the organic binder.
Cost Considerations
It is not always easy to compare the cost of
galvanizing to the cost of inorganic zinc-rich
coatings because the galvanizing industry calculates
cost by weight of zinc used while the coatings
industry calculates cost by area of steel coated and
the thick-ness of the coating.
The most economical and practical choice depends
in large measure on the size, weight, and shape of
the piece that is to be protected.
It is generally cheaper to galvanize most small
pieces and small irregular shapes such as handrails,
small angles, open floor grating, ladders, bolts, and
nuts.
It is usually cheaper to abrasive blast and apply
inorganic zinc to large structural pieces, pipe, tank
plates, vessels, and large irregular shapes of all
types.
As a general rule, galvanizing is cheaper if the piece
is less than 6 in. (152 mm) wide, less than 6 in. (16
mm) thick,
lighter than 30 lbs/sq ft (146 kg/sq m), or more than
375 sq ft/ton (38 sq m/Mg). Otherwise, inorganic
zinc is usually cheaper.
The guidelines in Table 3 were developed by W. A.
Wood, Jr. with the assistance of
applicators in the Southwest offering both
galvanizing
and coating application.
The table gives guidance for determining whether to
galvanize or use zinc-rich coatings.
Sometimes, the best way to select the method of
protection is to ask for competitive quotations on
the job requirements both ways and compare them.
It may be feasible to use both on the same job.
Table 4 gives a direct comparison, by weight/linear
foot of steel work, of galvanizing and the use of
inorganic zinc.7
Topcoating
Sooner or later, depending on the specific chemical
and weathering environment, both galvanizing and
inorganic zinc may need topcoat protection. In
aggressive environments, usually beyond the pH
range of 6 to 10.5, suitable protective topcoats are
needed to protect the structure itself and to protect
the zinc films so that their galvanic protection is
used for the protection of the steel and not wasted
by weathering into the atmosphere. In chloride and
sulfide environments, zinc chloride and zinc sulfide
salts will form, both of which are water-soluble.
The layers of zinc will continue converting
to these soluble salts and washing off until the zinc
is dissipated. Suitable top-coats are needed to
prevent this phenomenon and provide an effective
corro-sionresistant
system.
Substantial difference exists in the ease or
practicality of topcoating new galvanizing and
inorganic zinc coatings.
Properly compounded zinc-rich coatings
can be readily topcoated at the fabricator shop or at
the job site. Galvanizing, on the other hand,
requires brush-blasting, acid etching (e.g., vinyl
wash primer), or solvent wiping to remove the
surface contaminants
and oily film and to provide good adhesion.
Topcoating of aged galvanizing or in -organic zincrich
coatings in conditions free of chlorides or
sulfides can be achieved by pressure water washing,
acid etching, or brush blasting (SSPC-SP 7, NACE
No. 4) and applying a suitable primer and protective
coating system. Virtually all of the zinc will still be
present, topped with a zinc oxide-zinc carbonate
film that is fairly inert, tight, and rough enough for
good topcoat
adhesion. A dark gray color will indicate this
condition.
While brush blasting and acid etching can be used,
there is some question about their economics.
Further, they will remove some of the high quality
zinc oxide-zinc carbonate barrier coating that could
be left
to provide more years of protection.
In severe chloride or sulfide enviro nments, watersoluble
salts are formed. In 5 to 6 years, much of the
water-soluble zinc salt will have washed off, and the
zinc film will be reduced considerably. Additional
water-soluble salts will be forming and active
rusting will occur, making topcoat application
difficult. The complete removal of water-soluble
salts and rust is very difficult.
Removal generally must be done by abrasive
blasting and application of a new protective
coating system suitable for the specific environment.
Sometimes, topcoating is for appearance only. Both
inorganic zinc-rich and galvanizing can be
topcoated following the guidelines above, but the
supplier’s recommendation must be followed as
well.
Alkyds should never be used because they
react with the zinc and saponify, with the
result of loss of adhesion.

Gordon H. Brevoort
is a veteran of the
heavy-duty paint and
protective coatings
industry. He is well
known for his work in
creating the “Paint
and Coatings Selection
and Coat Guide,”
which has been
published biennially
through NACE since
Corrosion/79. He has
also computerized
the guide.
In the rail-car
field, Brevoort has
been active in NACE’s
T-14C Railcar Task
Group, was its
Symposium Chair for
Corrosion/92, and was
Vice-Chair of the
group that created the
Railcar Painting and
Lining Manual.
He has
conducted Economics
Tutorials for SSPC at
its annual meetings
and at its industry
seminars. He received
SSPC’s 1988 Coatings
Education Award
at that year’s
annual meeting.
He is president of
Brevoort Consulting
Associates, Inc., which
he formed in 1985.
Brevoort can be
reached at
7B2 Long Beach
Boulevard,
North Beach,
NJ 08008;
609/494-8645.
Conclusion
This article has attempted to compare
the use of untopcoated galvanizing and
inorganic zinc-rich coatings and to give
guide-lines on the uses and merits of
each. There is no simple answer to
which is best or which to use for new
structures because the materials are
basically equal in corro-sion resistance
and performance.
Each process has its own advantages and
disadvantages. Galvanizing is usually
cheaper for objects less than 6 in. (152
mm) wide, 5/8 in. (16 mm) thick, more
than 375 sq ft/ton (38 sq m/Mg), and
for grating and small pieces.
Untopcoated IOZ coatings are cost
effective on long assemblies,
large structural pieces, piping, and
vessels.
Scheduling, design criteria to facilitate
the galvanizing process, the mix of sizes
and shapes, and the availability of
galvanizing facilities with adequate
kettle size must be considered when
using galvanizing. IOZ coatings offer
flexibility in use, since they can be
applied to new or existing structures,
and the decision to use them can be
made at any time without sacrificing
protection,
scheduling, or increase in cost.
Each project must be evaluated
specif ically on its corrosive environment,
nature and size of the structure and its
components, and its design life. Most
importantly, if the pH is more than 6 to
10.5, topcoating is necessary for both
processes
and is done more cheaply up front than
later.
When uncertainty exists about the best
approach, bidding the project both with
shop-applied IOZ coatings and
galvanizing will help in making the
decision.