An industrial coating is a paint or coating defined by its protective, rather than its aesthetic properties, although it can provide both.

The most common use of industrial coatings is for corrosion

Corrosion

Corrosion is the disintegration of an engineered material into its constituent atoms due to chemical reactions with its surroundings. In the most common use of the word, this means electrochemical oxidation of metals in reaction with an oxidant such as oxygen...

 control of steel structures such as offshore platforms, bridges and underground pipelines. Other functions include intumescent

Intumescent

An intumescent is a substance which swells as a result of heat exposure, thus increasing in volume, and decreasing in density. Intumescents are typically used in passive fire protection and, in America, require listing and approval use and compliance in their installed configurations in order to...

 coatings for fire resistance. The most common polymers used in industrial coatings are polyurethane

Polyurethane

A polyurethane is any polymer composed of a chain of organic units joined by carbamate links. Polyurethane polymers are formed through step-growth polymerization, by reacting a monomer with another monomer in the presence of a catalyst.Polyurethanes are...

, epoxy

Epoxy

Epoxy, also known as polyepoxide, is a thermosetting polymer formed from reaction of an epoxide "resin" with polyamine "hardener". Epoxy has a wide range of applications, including fiber-reinforced plastic materials and general purpose adhesives....

 and moisture cure urethane. Another highly common polymer used in industrial coating is a fluoropolymer

Fluoropolymer

A fluoropolymer is a fluorocarbon based polymer with multiple strong carbon–fluorine bonds. It is characterized by a high resistance to solvents, acids, and bases.-History:Fluoropolymers were accidentally discovered in 1938 by Dr. Roy J...

. There are many types of industrial coatings including inorganic zinc, phosphate, and Xylan and PVD

Physical vapor deposition

Physical vapor deposition is a variety of vacuum deposition and is a general term used to describe any of a variety of methods to deposit thin films by the condensation of a vaporized form of the desired film material onto various workpiece surfaces...

 coatings.

NACE International

NACE International

NACE International is a professional organization for the corrosion control industry established in 1943. As of 2010, there are approximately 22,312 NACE members in over 100 countries. NACE International is involved in every industry and area of corrosion prevention and control, from chemical...

 and The Society for Protective Coatings

Society for Protective Coatings

SSPC: The Society for Protective Coatings is a professional organization for the industrial coatings industry. It was founded in 1950 as the Steel Structures Painting Council, a non-profit association concerned with the use of coatings to protect industrial steel structures such as bridges,...

 (SSPC) are professional organizations involved in the industrial coatings industry.

Industrial coatings are often composites of various substances. For example Xylan

Xylan (coating)

Xylan is a fluoropolymer-based industrial coating. Generally, it is applied in a thin film to the target material.-Applications:Xylan is generally used to reduce friction, improve wear resistance, and for non-stick applications. Additionally, it can be used to protect a metal from corrosion...

 dry-film lubricants are composites of fluoropolymers (typically PTFE

Polytetrafluoroethylene

Polytetrafluoroethylene is a synthetic fluoropolymer of tetrafluoroethylene that finds numerous applications. PTFE is most well known by the DuPont brand name Teflon....

, PFA

Perfluoroalkoxy

Perfluoroalkoxy or PFA is a type of fluoropolymer with properties similar to polytetrafluoroethylene . It differs from the PTFE resins in that it is melt-processable using conventional injection molding and screw extrusion techniques....

, and FEP

Fluorinated ethylene propylene

Fluorinated ethylene propylene or FEP is a copolymer of hexafluoropropylene and tetrafluoroethylene. It differs from the PTFE resins in that it is melt-processible using conventional injection molding and screw extrusion techniques. Fluorinated ethylene propylene was invented by DuPont and is sold...

) and reinforcing thermoset polyimide

Polyimide

Polyimide is a polymer of imide monomers. The structure of imide is as shown. Polyimides have been in mass production since 1955...

 and polyamide

Polyamide

A polyamide is a polymer containing monomers of amides joined by peptide bonds. They can occur both naturally and artificially, examples being proteins, such as wool and silk, and can be made artificially through step-growth polymerization or solid-phase synthesis, examples being nylons, aramids,...

binder resins initially suspended in a variety of solvents (such as ethyl acetate, xylene, dimethlformamide, and N-methyl 2-yrrolidone).

A typical coating system may include a primer, a intermediate coat, and a top-coat. The polymer film acts as a physical barrier between the steel substrate and the corrosive environment such as atmosphere, water and soil.

Further Readings

• Paolo Nanetti: Coatings from A to Z, Vincentz Verlag, Hannover, 2006, ISBN 3-87870-173-X