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A Primer on Epoxy Zinc Rich Primers

By Shivananda Prabhu
Published: May 27, 2019 | Last updated: January 25, 2022
Key Takeaways

Zinc rich epoxy primers have the advantages of curing quickly and independent of humidity levels compared to the curing performance of zinc rich silicate primers. They have superior surface tolerance as well.

Source: istockphoto.com

The primer is the most vital layer of a coating because it works as the base for the designated top coating that is needed for corrosion prevention. It also provides the subsequent layer for a surface to grab and hold on to, thus enabling subsequent coating films to bond properly. Hence, the primer contains binders needed to adhere to the substrate and bind the next coating system layer.

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Because the primer has to fill and hide defects in the substrate's surface, it must be carefully matched to surface characteristics such as porosity. In the event that portions of the top coat become delaminated or damaged later on, the zinc content in the primer will continue to provide corrosion protection for a limited period of time.

Basics of Epoxy Zinc Rich Primers

Epoxy zinc rich primers belong to the family of zinc rich coatings that are applied to protect ferrous surfaces from corrosion. These primarily work as sacrificial cathodic protection products. Because zinc is anodic to steel, these particles corrode first, protecting the ferrous substrate beneath the primer from corrosion.

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The corrosion product is a powdery zinc oxide that exposes the remaining zinc coating for further oxidation, providing protection continuity. Therefore, zinc-based primers provide sacrificial cathodic protection for the steel substrate.

Reduced zinc epoxy primers have around 55% zinc by weight in the cured primer film, whereas zinc-rich epoxy primers have around 80 to 85% zinc by weight.

Organic Versus Inorganic Zinc Rich Primers

A zinc-rich epoxy primer coating is an organic coating and necessarily requires a top coating for durable and reliable heavy-duty protection. It can be applied with airless spray, air spray, a roller or a brush—and the simplicity of application as well as the surface tolerance makes it suitable for onsite maintenance applications. Nonetheless, organic zinc-rich primers may crack if over-applied, which leads to coating failures. The failures are often seen on welds and corners.

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Inorganic zinc rich primers, on the other hand, have the advantage of not requiring a top coating. Normally silicate is used as the binder in this case. This primer can’t be applied on site, because perfect surface preparation by abrasive blasting of surface is a must. (For more on this topic, see Surface Preparation for Inorganic Zinc Silicate Coatings.)

There are four major differences between organic and inorganic zinc rich primers:

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  1. Binder. The organic variety uses epoxy, butyl, urethane or other organic resins, while inorganic zinc-rich coatings generally use a zinc silicate binder.
  2. Performance temperature. Inorganic zinc can perform in higher service temperatures (up to 400 degrees Celsius), while organic or epoxy zinc is known to perform at lower temperatures (only up to 120 degrees Celsius).
  3. Service lifetime. Inorganic zinc has a longer service lifetime than organic zinc. For example, in a coastal environment, the inorganic zinc may last up to 15 years—whereas the organic zinc’s service time is 13.5 years.
  4. Resistance to abrasion, sunlight and solvents. Inorganic zinc is also believed to be more resistant to these factors compared to organic zinc.

The Protection Mechanism of Zinc Rich Primers

Even though zinc rich primers' effective performance is attributed primarily to sacrificial corrosion prevention, the complex protection mechanism must be understood in totality.

Initially, once the zinc rich primer and the top coating are applied on the substrate as a continuous layer, the coating system acts as a barrier to corrosive environments and can rightly be called a barrier coating. The coating fully isolates the substrate from the environment.

Only after a defect is formed in the coating, thus partially exposing the substrate to the corrosive environment, does the zinc rich primer layer play its part in providing sacrificial corrosion protection to delay the onset of the electrochemical reaction (corrosion) of the substrate. The amount of sacrificial protection provided depends upon variables such as the purity of the zinc dust used, the presence of moisture, and the electrical conductivity between the substrate and interconnected zinc particles. Thus, the zinc used in the primer is anodic to the ferrous substrate that acts as a cathode. Once the zinc particles are converted into zinc oxide, the sacrificial protection will end.

In his paper “Zinc rich primers for corrosion protection”, J Peter concludes that generally "inorganic zinc coatings can provide better corrosion protection than organic zinc coatings." The corrosion protection provided by coating systems with zinc rich primers were found to be superior to the protection provided by organic coatings without zinc rich primers.

Areas of Application

Zinc rich epoxy primers are extensively used to protect steel piping and structural members exposed to corrosive environments. These primers with advanced formulations are often designed for the severely corrosive environments with high relative humidity, high salinity, and aggressive atmospheres faced by marine and offshore assets, such as coastal power plants, bridges, oil refineries/ platforms and mining machinery. These can also be used to repair damaged zinc silicate coatings and galvanized ferrous surfaces. (For more on this topic, see Galvanization and its Efficacy in Corrosion Prevention.)

The zinc-rich epoxy coating can also be applied over blasted steel for a wide range of shop or field applications, including bridge and highway structures, sport stadiums, buildings, steel fabrication shops, piping, barges, ships and drilling rigs. Zinc-rich epoxy is commonly used at infrastructure such as petrochemical and chemical plants, power stations and pulp and paper plants.

Performance of Zinc Rich Epoxies

Compared to zinc-rich silicates, the major advantages of zinc-rich epoxies include:

  • Quick curing ability, regardless of ambient humidity.
  • Overcoating ease.
  • Capability for greater film thickness without the risk of mud cracking.
  • Suitability for using standard airless spray, without the need for the special spray equipment required for zinc rich silicates.
  • A greater tolerance of variable surface conditions and less stringent surface quality requirements for the substrate. For example, surfaces inaccessible for abrasive blast cleaning can be protected by a zinc-rich epoxy primer.

Challenges Faced By Epoxy Zinc Rich Primers

These primers exhibit the following drawbacks:

Causes of Coating Failures

Zinc-rich epoxy primers may fail sometimes to protect the surface due to:

  • Poor primer formulation quality due to the high filler content and consequently lower resin content.
  • The use of lower film thicknesses (less than 50 microns).
  • The use of sea sand that contains chlorides for abrasive blasting, which adversely affects the substrate cleanliness and often leaves a chloride residue behind.
  • Inadequate surface roughness, resulting in poor primer adhesion.

Advanced Coating Formulations

Coating manufacturers have developed innovative formulations for specific operational requirements, such as the addition of low temperature curing agents for temperatures below five degrees Celsius (41 degrees Fahrenheit). However, low temperature curing agents added to the coating can increase the volatile organic compound (VOC) content.

One study that examined the performance of inorganic zinc rich versus organic zinc rich primers and activated zinc technology describes the performance of a proprietary activated zinc technology product that synergistically combines inhibitor, barrier and cathodic sacrificial protection mechanisms. It was found that in traditional zinc-rich epoxies, only about a third of the zinc dust is actively utilized to provide sacrificial cathodic protection of the substrate. The new technology enhances the zinc dust utilization to protect the surface.

Furthermore, the study revealed that the new activated zinc epoxy technology product has superior rust creep resistance compared to conventional zinc-rich epoxy primers and the performance is on par with that of zinc-rich silicate primers. Additionally, the new activated zinc-rich technology product was found to be superior to zinc-rich silicate and conventional zinc epoxy primers with respect to impact resistance and flexibility.

Application Methods for Zinc Rich Epoxy Primers

To be primed, surfaces must be cleaned, dry, free from contamination or debris and abrasive blasted. Surface defects must be noted and rectified. Oil or grease should be removed properly with solvent cleaning. Abrasive blast cleaning should be performed thoroughly. Surface defects revealed by the blast cleaning process should be ground, filled or treated appropriately.

The primer, in two containers, must be mixed according to the coating manufacturer's instructions; and a uniform content should be obtained. Once the unit has been mixed, it must be used within the working pot life specified.

The coating can be applied by roller, brush, airless spray or air spray. For airless spray, the fluid pressure at the spray tip should be maintained according to the coating manufacturer’s specifications. Typical tip range for airless spray is in a range of approximately 0.4 to 0.5 millimeters. In the case of brush application, the recommended film thickness should be maintained (typical figures per coat are 50 to 75 microns). Brush and roller applications would usually be suitable for small areas only. The chosen film thickness must be matched to the surface profile. (For more on this topic, see: 5 Coating Defects That Can Be Avoided By Adhering To Coating Specs.)

When applying the coating by brush or roller, it may be necessary to apply multiple coats to achieve the total specified system dry film thickness, usually around 40 microns at minimum.

If the film is to be cured at temperatures below 5 degrees Celsius (41 degrees Fahrenheit), a product with a low temperature curing agent should be chosen. For maximum performance, ambient curing temperatures should typically be above 10 degrees Celsius (50 degrees Fahrenheit). The time between the primer application and the overcoating for the given ambient temperature must be kept in mind when planning the top coating application. (A typical interval for overcoating is four hours for 5 degrees Celsius.)

Conclusion

While the use of zinc rich primers is an effective way of provide anti-corrosion protection, epoxy zinc rich primers have greater acceptance as maintenance primers.

The main advantage of these primers is their ability to produce higher film thicknesses without the risk of mud cracking.

Conventional airless type spray equipment can be used for the primer application. It is surface-tolerant; but it can’t be used as a shop primer due to poor weldability.

Activated zinc-rich epoxy products being developed through proprietary technologies have good creep rust resistance comparable to inorganic zinc rich silicate primers.

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Written by Shivananda Prabhu

Shivananda Prabhu

Shivananda Prabhu is a Graduate Engineer from the University of Mysore, Karnataka, India and PGDBM (Equivalent to MBA) from XLRI, a top-ten management institute. He previously worked for Tata Steel, Jamshedpur, in the area of maintenance as a Manager and Specialist in tribology, lubrication, wear prevention, corrosion prevention, maintenance management and condition monitoring. He has contributed to loss prevention and value engineering as well as knowledge management initiatives.

He later worked as a Technical Trainer, Safety Trainer, Lead Auditor of ISO 9001, ISO 14001, Management Trainer, and Training and HR specialist.

For about four years he worked in academics in PG institutions, as a Professor and later as Director of IPS (Management Institute) in Pune. He also worked for three years as an editor and writer for research papers, newspapers, trade journals and websites. Overall his experience spans more than 25 years.

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