Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) has been employed to monitor, and model, real- time chemical stripping and de-adhesion of select coatings from steel panels. Instead of the customary salt solution, a water based chemical stripper was used in a custom-built EIS cell. In effect, the stripper was simultaneously used as the electrolyte for the EIS test as well as the modus operandi for stripping the coated panels. Alkyd (3 coats) and epoxy polyamide coatings (2 coats) were compared and contrasted during the chemical stripping process. To examine the influence of pigment types in the coatings, a leafing aluminum alkyd finish in a 3 coat system was compared with an alkyd finish that contained titanium dioxide. The epoxy polyamide coating systems examined contained either non-leafing aluminum or titanium dioxide pigments. The EIS data is discussed in terms of such multivariate factors as the pigment used in the different coating types, the influence of coating chemistry and the unique chemistry of the water based chemical stripper.
Keywords: alkyd, epoxy, aluminum pigments, titanium dioxide pigments, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, EIS, chemical strippers, SARA