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Alternative clear coat for die cast zinc

February 23, 2012

Q. Is there a comparable alternative to using Coricone (from Corrotherm) to apply a clear coat that will provide the same corrosion protection, etc.? The Coricone waste must be handled and disposed of as hazardous waste and an alternative non-hazardous substitute is what I am seeking. Thanks.

Ken Greenwood
- Honeoye Falls, New York, USA

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Hi, Ken. Your question is not so much a question that can be answered as the initiation of a dialog on the subject. Coricone claims to be a Mil-C-82954 coating, so you could hunt for an alternative supplier of Mil-C-82954 coatings, but I would suspect that all would suffer from the same regulatory requirements. This website's supporting advertisers (see banner at top of page) offer various types of clearcoats, but how will you compare "corrosion protection" . . . neutral salt spray test?

Finishing.com completed a study of coatings for diecastings for the International Zinc Association recently. Although we did not test Coricone, we did test a number of simple clear coatings, and truthfully none were as good as plating or e-coating. If you only aim is salt spray protection, and conductivity is not an issue, I think a two-pack automotive clear coat, or a clear e-coating might meet your needs, but both sound more expensive and generally less satisfactory than a simple one-component Mil-C-82954 spray. Hopefully other readers can offer encouragement, but we must ask for generic solutions rather than claims that some proprietary secret formula outperforms other suppliers' secret formulas :-)

Regards,

Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
February 21, 2012