How environmental corrosivity categories affect coating-system selection and maintenance intervals.
An anticorrosion protection system is selected according to the environmental corrosivity category and the required service life before the first major maintenance. There is no universal solution: a coating that lasts 15 years in a warehouse may deteriorate within two or three seasons in an area exposed to sulfur-containing emissions.
Environmental corrosivity categories
- C2–C3 — heated indoor and urban environments; two-coat epoxy–polyurethane systems
- C4 — industrial sites; high-build epoxy coatings with a polyurethane topcoat
- C5-I / C5-M — chemical plants and marine atmospheres; systems based on a zinc-rich primer
- Im categories — immersion and underground installations; specialist reinforced coating systems
Maintenance interval
The economics depend not on the cost per square meter but on the number of maintenance interventions over the asset’s life cycle. A zinc-rich primer system costs more initially, but in a C5 environment it can at least halve the number of repair cycles. When production downtime is considered, this becomes a decisive factor.
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