All participants of the webinar were welcomed by Elina Tsirkul, Director of the Corrosion Protection Exhibition, who emphasized the importance of the chosen topic, since zinc plating really allowed achieving impressive results.

Vasily Bocharov, CEO of Zinker Ltd., spoke on the issue. He introduced the technology itself to the audience and focused on its main differences from galvanizing.

The speaker started with a small retrospective journey to the history. The Research and Production Centre for Anticorrosion Protection was founded in 2009 by specialists in field of metal protection against corrosion. The same year a formula of Galvanol, a zinc-rich coating (technical specifications TU 2312-001-61702992-2009), was designed. The same year the product was released in the market, and a year later trademark certificates – GALVANOL No. 441381 and ГАЛЬВАНОЛ № 413408 (the name in Russian) – were obtained.

"In 2010, we conducted the first research to compare protective capacities of hot galvanizing and a coating based on Galvanol composition. By the way, either in sea and fresh water or in atmospheric conditions carbon steel-based GALVANOL is never inferior to hot galvanizing by its protective capacity", – the expert explained.

In subsequent years specialists of the company continued their researches. In 2012, accelerated testing for salt fog took place in Lakokraspokrytie Scientific Production Association. GALVANOL was the first composition of the Zinker class successfully introduced in the Russian market.

"According to Change No. 2 in the Code of Rules to 28.13330.2017 SNiP 2.03.11-85. “Protection of Building Structures against Corrosion” that has come into force in May this year, our zinc plating technology is recommended for use as an alternative for protection of assembling welded joints of structural connections and as a way to protect metal structures made of profiled steel bar plates against corrosion in mildly aggressive environment for the calibre of 80–120 microns", – the speaker said.

So, what is zinc plating?! It’s the process of coating metal with a layer of zinc to protect it against corrosion by putting on a Zinker class zinc plating substance: "The resulting layer, contains 96% of the active stabilized zinc thus forming a stable galvanic pair Fe-Zn, in which zinc acts as an anode and protects the black metal (steel) electrochemical method, while providing maximum adhesion".

Vasily Bocharov listed characteristic features of the zinc coating: it forms a stable Zn-Fe subdispersion zone on the metal surface; has the property of interlayer diffusion (the coating can be restored in 15-20 years); retains the function of surface self-preservation and self-healing throughout the service life; is characterized by sufficient resistance to abrasion. Also, the interatomic distance in the zinc layer is similar to the interatomic distance in the zinc layer, applied by the process of immersion in the bath. It is applied even in winter at a temperature of -35°C; UV-stable, has a noble grey colour.

CEO of Zinker Ltd. made a special emphasis on the comparison with analogues, since this question has always been asked most often.

"For example, unlike cold galvanizing, zinc plating does not require overlapping finishing layers, thanks to a unique patented polymer that provides cathodic protection of zinc throughout its life. It is used as an independent coating, by analogy with hot-dip galvanizing. However, if necessary, it can be used as a primer for various coatings and fire-retardant materials. It is not destroyed by UV radiation", – the speaker assured.

Zinc plating is used to protect large-sized, hollow, thin-walled, lap-welded products, to protect critical structures in all types of corrosive environments activity, including aggressive and highly aggressive ones. A guaranteed protection period is 15 years or more with a layer thickness of 120 microns. As a rule, zinc plating is used to protect metal structures in industrial and civil construction, agriculture, fuel and energy facilities, road construction and transport construction, hydraulic structures.

In conclusion of his speech Vasily Bocharov told about the projects the company had already implemented and presented video guidelines for the use of a zinc plating technology.