Optimisation of metallic pigments in coatings by an electrochemical technique and an investigation of manganese powder as pigment for metal rich primers

Zinc dust and manganese powder as pigments were incorporated in epoxy-polyamide and butyl titanate medium, with different pigment volume concentration (PVC) ranging from 20 to 74. These protective coatings were coated on sand blasted mild steel substrates and immersed in 3 wt.% sodium chloride solution and the corrosion current was measured by the Tafel extrapolation method. From the corrosion current produced by these primers, the optimum level of the pigments in these binders was identified. Thus the protective performance of optimised primers was evaluated on a sand blasted mild steel surface by the Tafel polarisation method in 3 wt.% sodium chloride solution, over different periods of time. The results were found to be comparable with the salt spray test and galvanic current measurements. The manganese powder used for this investigation showed that it could be used as an alternative to zinc powder for metal rich primers.