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Coatings - Historical Items: (arranged alphabetically) Anodizing: ~ 1926: anodized coatings reportedly investigated and documented at NPL, Teddington, UK. British patent (#290,901) in 1927 - patent rights reportedly ended up with Alcoa who set up anodizing plant in Pennsylvania (USA) during 1930's Great Depression. Other British patents followed in 1930 and 1937. Source: Arthur Brace: "Anodizing - It's Development, Status and Future Challenges", Metal Finishing Magazine. This paper won The Robert L. Kersman Award of Excellence for best paper at the 2002 Anodizing Conference of the Aluminum Anodizers Council." Beer Can - Protective Coating: 1935: protective coating makes first commercial beer can feasible. The first internal can lacquer reportedly dates back to 1850 (France). Source: Valspar web site Druids: The druids of ancient times (think of the Asterix comics*) reportedly also knew a thing or two about producing durable protective coatings, using ox blood and lime. Source: web site of Flexi-Shield (Australia) * Astute readers with a metallurgical background may have taken note of the character "Metallurgix" (a distant cousin of Obelix) in these cartoons, who helped the druid with a broken sickle dilemma (in Asterix and the Golden Sickle). Egypt (Ancient): Use of varnishes and enamels based on beeswax, gelatin and clay, at least as early as 3000 BC. Subsequently coatings of pitch and balsam to waterproof wooden boats. Around 1000 BC, varnishes (from gum Arabic). Source: Roof Coatings Manufacturers Association - visit www.roofcoatings.org for more details. Galvanizing: 1837, in Paris, Sorel (a civil engineer) took out patent for a process of coating iron by dipping it in molten zinc, naming this process "galvanizing". Source: C. Evans: "An Anecdotal History of the Galvanizing Industry", 1992. 1850's: first hot dip galvanized products used in Australia (corrugated iron sheets, imported from the U.K., and still widely used Down Under). Source: Corrosion Management, November 2002, Industrial Galvanizers Corporation. 1921: Publication of "Zinc's Ten Commandments" in the American Zinc, Lead and Oil Journal. The Fifth Commandment: "Eliminate the word galvanize from your dictionary and substitute for it the word zincize." Source: C. Evans: "An Anecdotal History of the Galvanizing Industry", 1992. Lacquer - Origins: Lacquer reportedly originated in China some 7,000 years ago (derived from tree sap), with application areas including protective coatings. Duncan Franklin has reported on museum objects from the tomb of Fu Hao, a consort to a Shang Dynasty Emperor who was buried around 1200 BC, who had a lacquered coffin. Commenting on the water resistance of lacquer, he made the observation that "... most of the early lacquer objects that have been found in China have come from flooded tombs". Sources: Lacquer - Beetle Juice: The word lacquer is rooted in the term "lac" with an historical connection to a beetle species. Lac is a natural substance secreted by the insect Coccus lacca, also known as the lac beetle. This secretion has been processed for further use in lacquers (such as shellac). Maya Blue Paint Pigment: Maya Blue is a blue pigment, reportedly used in the ancient Mayan civilization some 2,000 years ago. It is reportedly composed of natural ingredients, palygorskite clay (inorganic) and indigo (organic plant derivative). It has displayed remarkable durability over hundreds of years of exposure under humid conditions. High resistance to biodegradation, and degradation by acids, alkalis, and chemical solvents has also been reported. Sources: Coatings World (stories archive), Accelrys web site: "Maya Paint Secrets revealed". A reference associated with this pigment is: L.A. Polette, N. Ugarte, M.J. Yacaman and R.R. Chianelli: "Maya Blue", Discovering Archeology, August 2000, pp.46-53. Paint - First Use Archaeologists reportedly found pigments and paint grinding equipment in Zambia (Southern Africa), thought to be between 350,000 and 400,000 years old. Source: BBC News, "Earliest evidence of art found", 2 May, 2000. About 30,000 years ago (cave paintings) by cave dwellers, for decorative purposes. These ancient paints reportedly were based on animal fat (binder) and colored earth or other natural pigments (ochre, for example). Oldest testimony of decorative paint activity traced to Southern France. Sources: National Paint & Coatings Association (NPCA) and European Council of the Paint, Printing Ink and Artists' Colours Industry (CEPE) Paint - Boston Stone: Earliest known paint mill in the United States, dating back to around 1700 when imported from England by Thomas Child. The round stone was reportedly rolled over another larger stone for grinding pigment and oil. Source: National Paint & Coatings Association (NPCA), "History of Paints and Coatings" and The New England Coatings Association (NECA). Paint - Automotive: Earliest automotive paints were reportedly slow drying varnishes, "inherited" from horse-drawn carriage coatings. Up to sixteen coats were the order of those days, with an application time frame of several weeks! Source: J.G. Dickson: "50 Years of Epon Paints", PCI Magazine. Paint - First Pigment Binder: Beeswax reportedly the earliest known pigment binder, with the pigment added to this molten wax. Source: Sinopia.com Paint - Hardness Testing: 1923, first known test method on pencil hardness published by National Paint, Varnish and Lacquer Association (NPVLA, now known as NPCA). Source: P Guevin Jr.: "Measuring the Hardness of Paints Using Pencils", ASTM Standardization News, September 2002. Paint - Ready Mix (United States): 1867, first generation of ready mix paints by D.R. Averill, with early industry developments driven by need for protecting residences. Source: B. Bonifant: "Competitive Implications of Environmental Regulation in the Paint and Coatings Industry", Management Institute for Environment and Business, 1994. Paint Roller: Invented in 1940 by a Canadian, Norman Breakey (Toronto). Reportedly, Breakey never made the fortune he had hoped for from this invention. Source: A. J. Carty (President: National Research Council), Canadian Science Writers Association Annual Meeting, IRDC, Ottawa, 1999. Phosphating: William Ross, British Patent for corrosion protection 1869 - treatment of iron corset stays as substitute for whalebone - plunging hot iron into phosphoric acid. Thomas Watt Coslett, British Patent in 1906, treatment of iron and steel by immersion in phosphoric acid solution with iron filings. Source: British Surface Treatment Suppliers Association, "Metal Pre-Treatment". Pipeline Coatings - Surveys of: 1941: Pearson Survey technique, based on ac signal leakage, from pipe to soil, at coatings defects. Reference: J.M. Pearson: Petroleum Engineer, 1941. Source: Tinker & Rasor (www.tinker-rasor.com, see "Tech
Papers" section). SSPC - Steel Structures Painting Council: Founded in 1950 - see www.sspc.org
References/Literature: European Council of the Paint, Printing Ink and Artists' Colours Industry (CEPE): "From cave dwellings to micro chips - A short history of paints and coatings", Brussels (not dated). Links:
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