Anyone that knows anything about metals knows that when different metals contact each other, corrosion often occurs. For example,connecting a copper water pipe to a galvanized steel pipe without a dielectric union will cause excessive corrosion at that joint.
For years I have painted steel with Aluminum paint (silver colored paint), to make it appear shiny and still look like metal.
For some reason this paint became very hard to find in spray cans about two years ago. Stores like Walmart just stopped selling it. I immediately suspected some sort of ban on the stuff due to health or environmental reasons. This lead me to look on google to search for some sort of ban. I found no bans listed. However, in the process I discovered that this paint actually does contain small aluminum particles. (I originally thought the word "aluminum" just meant it was the color of aluminum, but now I know it really contains these particles.
This brings up another question. Since it contains actual aluminum, how come it don't cause a corrosive reaction when painted on steel? I painted my entire steel barn roof with this paint, since the steel was starting to rust in spots where the galvanized coating was wearing away from age. The paint lasted quite a few years, but I should repaint it soon again.
Since it's really aluminum, is it the paint resins or another reason that causes it to work on steel without any reaction?