The dependence of the corrosion protection of water‐borne paints on the concentration of the anticorrosive pigment

Magnesium ferrite pigments were evaluated as active pigments in anticorrosive water‐borne paints. The study includes the use of two different anticorrosive pigment volume concentration (APVC), 15 and 25 per cent and fixed the Q value (the pigment volume concentration/critical pigment volume concentration ratio) in both paint formulations. Epoxy and acrylated alkyd resins were used as binders. The paints were evaluated by accelerated salt spray tests, corrosion tests in condensed water and sulphur dioxide chambers and electrochemical evaluations. The results obtained were compared with reference paints containing zinc ferrite and zinc phosphate pigments. Ferrite pigments passivate the carbon steel directly in the case of neutral epoxy resin binder or indirectly due to the soaps produced as a result of reaction with the acidic acrylated alkyd resin binder. A lower per cent, i.e. 15 per cent of APVC was found to be sufficient to provide satisfactory anticorrosion protection.