Long‐life corrosion protection with inorganic zinc silicates

PAINTS as methods of passive corrosion protection must be considered essential for steel and metal structures, and are as old as the need to preserve their value. Moreover, the attempt has long been made, not only to cover the surfaces of steels with organic paints, but also to protect them actively and thereby to exclude the danger of under‐rusting as a result of crack and pore formation or absorption of water in the organic paint films. Such active corrosion protection is already about 200 years old. But the development, the manufacturing technique, and not least the price, often make it impossible to provide surfaces with a coating by hot‐dip or spray galvanizing.