Pulverized Zinc as a Protective Pigment

Manufacturer and builder 9, 1876

Fine zinc powder is a very valuable protective pigment if applied with a drying oil. That paints containing pulverized zinc are very appropriate for iron objects, and give, if mixed with red lead, a hard, strong coating, is not as generally known as it deserves, notwithstanding pulverized zinc has long been used in varnishes. It acts as a strong reducing agent, which prevents the oxidation of the iron, becoming, in its combination with red lead, very hard, from the fact that the red lead gives some of its oxygen to the finely-divided zinc, and the zinc oxid see generated occupies a larger space than before, and fills up all the pores of the paint, see that this appears harder and more dense.