Cathodic protection and coatings are both engineering disciplines with the primary purpose of the mitigation or the prevention of corrosion. Each process is different. Cathodic protection prevents corrosion by introducing electrical currents from external sources to counteract the normal electro-chemical corrosion reactions.1,2  Coatings form a barrier or a dam to prevent the flow of corrosion current from the naturally occurring anodes and cathodes or between galvanic couples.3,4  Each of these processes has been successful in its own right. Coatings being by far the most widespread general method of corrosion prevention while cathodic protection has protected hundreds of thousands of miles of pipe and acres of steel surface. As corrosion protection has become more critical and all types of metal structures more valuable, a marriage of the two corrosion prevention processes has occurred.

Subject
Primers, Zinc rich coatings, Steel surfaces, Water, Coatings, Cathodic protection, Moisture, Cathodic potential, Cathodic current, Epoxy coatings, Steel, Marine vessels, Calcareous deposits
© 1980 Association for Materials Protection and Performance (AMPP). All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of AMPP. Positions and opinions advanced in this work are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of AMPP. Responsibility for the content of the work lies solely with the author(s).
1980
Association for Materials Protection and Performance (AMPP)
You do not currently have access to this content.