Anti-Corrosion Coatings

An anti-corrosion coating is a protective barrier applied to metal equipment to prevent or slow the oxidation, pitting and galvanic attack caused by exposure to salt, moisture, chemicals and atmospheric conditions. Industrial anti-corrosion coatings fall into two main categories — pure fluoropolymer barrier coatings (PTFE, PFA, Halar ECTFE) for chemical immersion service, and composite fluoropolymer coatings (PPG/Whitford Xylan) for fastener, hardware and general industrial corrosion service.

Xylan is the industry-standard fastener anti-corrosion coating for oil and gas, marine and offshore service. Xylan 1070 delivers 3,000+ hours of ASTM B117 salt spray protection over zinc phosphate, and Xylan 1424 — the waterborne VOC-compliant version — delivers over 1,500 hours over zinc phosphate. Over a Xylar ceramic primer, Xylan topcoats have achieved 3,900 to 5,000+ hours salt spray. Xylan 1424 is the most specified PTFE fastener coating globally and the North Sea offshore standard.

Xylan is a composite — a fluoropolymer lubricant (PTFE, PFA or FEP) blended with organic polymer binders to create a thin-film dry lubricant with corrosion and wear resistance in one system. It cures at lower temperatures, can be applied by dip-spin for fasteners, and dominates hardware corrosion service. Pure PTFE coatings are sintered fluoropolymer films used for chemical immersion, release and process equipment. Both have their place — Xylan for hardware and fasteners, pure PTFE/PFA/Halar for chemical lining and thick-film barrier service.

Yes. For chemical immersion and barrier service AST applies Halar (ECTFE) thick-film linings up to 2,000 µm, PFA nonporous melt-flow films and PTFE chemical-resistant coatings. Halar is the preferred choice for combined chemical and permeation resistance, particularly in sodium hypochlorite service and aggressive acid or alkali environments. See our Chemical Resistant Coatings page for details.

Salt spray performance depends on both the coating and the pretreatment. Typical benchmarks against ASTM B117: Xylan 1070 delivers 3,000+ hours over zinc phosphate and approximately 3,900 hours over Xylar 2 primer. Xylan 1424 delivers 1,500+ hours over zinc phosphate. Over zinc-nickel plating Xylan topcoats can achieve 3,000+ hours. Xylar ceramic primer plus Xylan topcoat has been documented at 3,900 to 5,000+ hours. AST sizes the coating system and pretreatment to the corrosion environment and service life required.

AST provides anti-corrosion coating services to oil and gas, marine and offshore, chemical processing, defence, mining, food processing and general engineering industries across Australia, New Zealand and South East Asia. Customers include VISY, Pfizer, Alcoa, Rio Tinto and Lockheed Martin. The service range covers fasteners, valves, flanges, structural hardware, process equipment, tanks and vessels.