2005 年 2005 巻 50 号 p. 47-61
Even under stronger environmental regulation in global society, paints for multi-leaf springs is composed of organic solvent and zinc dust which provides a sacrificial anode effect of corrosion protection presently. Recently Japanese government has set a target which clears a regulatory organic solvent level widely accepted by international society by the year of 2010. In EU, deliberations on zinc have started, even though it has not been declared as harmful metal yet. Under these circumstances, the committee conducted a series of weathering test to compare alternate paints like water solvent zinc rich paint, powder paint, and electro deposit paint with the current zinc rich paints. The test was executed with the help of paint manufacturers. To evaluate candidate paints, equipment cost, necessary floor plan, running cost, and the extent of handling easiness are also generally considered in addition to the essential corrosion protective quality. Since we identified the problems of alternate paints, the development of practically applicable alternate paints is desirable in near future.