Outdoor enclosures for telecom equipment are often made from aluminum, but with the protective treatments described in this two-part article series, inexpensive steels can serve in the same capacity. Zinc-based galvanizing and aluminizing treatments, which were presented in Part 1, may be used alone or together with corrosion-resistant paints, pretreatments, and sealants described here. This article also assesses the corrosion resistance and adhesion properties of different combinations of steels, coatings, and pretreatments by means of salt fog spray testing.

Outdoor enclosures for telecom equipment are often constructed from powder-coated aluminum, but with appropriate surface treatments, hot and cold rolled steel can serve in the same capacity at a lower cost. This article, the first of a two-part series, discusses the intrinsic corrosion behavior of hot and cold rolled steel and how it can be modified through galvanizing and aluminizing treatments. Part 2, scheduled for the October 2012 issue of AM&P , covers nonmetallic surface treatments and presents corrosion test results.