Corrosion Resistance of Different Metallic Coatings on Press-Hardened Steels for Automotive

The corrosion resistance of laboratory press-hardened components in aluminized, galvanized or galvannealed boron steels was evaluated through VDA 621-415 cyclic test for the automotive industry. 22MnB5 uncoated steel for hot stamping and standard galvanized steel for cold forming were also included as references. Corrosion resistance after painting (cosmetic corrosion) was quantified by measuring the delamination of electro-deposited paint from scribed panels. The rusting on their edges was used for determining the cut-edge corrosion resistance. The corrosion resistance on unpainted deformed panels (perforating corrosion) was quantified by mass losses and pit depth measurements. Zinc-coated boron steels were found to be more resistant to cosmetic corrosion than the other materials, and slightly more resistant to cut-edge corrosion than the aluminized one. Red rust apparition could not be avoided due to the high iron content in all these hot-stamped coatings. The three coated boron steels showed similar performances in terms of resistance to perforation. Aluminized boron steel presents the advantage of being less sensitive to hot-stamping process deviation. Its robustness has been proved for many years on cars.