A comparative study between the results of different electrochemical techniques (EIS and AC/DC/AC): Application to the optimisation of the cataphoretic and curing parameters of a primer for the automotive industry

Companies producing organic coatings for the automotive industry often need to test newly formulated products, which may have used different production or application parameters, to determine their actual behaviour before large-scale production and use of the coating. Proper choice of the test for this characterisation and the method of evaluation are critical. The results must be obtained in relatively short times so it is impracticable for manufacturers to wait for the completion of outdoor exposure tests. To reduce lead times in the development process, the use of an accelerated aging test (such as salt spray resistance) to predict durability of the coating is essential. Yet, the time needed to perform such tests is usually at least 500 h. This article proposes the use of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and an electrochemical test, AC/DC/AC, which consists in a combination of impedance results and cathodic polarisations, in order to optimise in a very short time the cataphoretic process parameters (mean applied voltage) and the curing temperature needed for a primer in order to obtain the maximum anticorrosion performance. Results show very good degree of concordance between the two electrochemical tests although the AC/DC/AC method is much faster. The accelerated electrochemical test lasted 24 h to differentiate anticorrosive coatings performance, while same conclusions were obtained after more than 100 days by electrolyte immersion and evaluated by EIS.