Advanced zinc phosphate conversion coatings. Final report, June 1996--December 1996

A SERDP-sponsored program aims at developing environmentally benign zinc phosphate conversion coatings and their process technologies for the electrogalvanized steel (EGS). We succeeded in formulating an environmentally acceptable phosphate solution without Co- and Ni-related additives, and also in replacing a hexavalent Cr acid sealant applied over the zinc phosphate (Zh-Ph) layers with a water-based polysiloxane sealers. The specific advantages of the newly developed Zn-Ph coatings were as follows: (1) there was rapid growth of uniform, dense embryonic Zn-Ph crystals on the EGS surfaces due to the creation of short-circuited cells with Mn acting as the cathode and the galvanized (zinc) coatings as the anode, (2) an excellent protection layer against corrosion was formed, extending the service life of zinc layers as galvanic sacrifice barriers, and (3) adhesion to the electro-deposited polymeric primer coating was improved because of the interaction between the siloxane sealer and primer. A full-scale demonstration to evaluate the reproducibility of this new coating technology on mini-sized automotive door panels made from EGS was carried out in collaboration with the Palnut Company (as industrial coating applicator) in New Jersey. All of the 150 mini-door panels were successfully coated with Zn-Ph