Patent ID: 8152983

Claim:
A method of making an electrocoat composition, which is 5 to 35% by weight solids, comprising combining: (A) at least one binder comprising at least one group that is a potentially cationic ammonium group and/or cationic ammonium group, and one or more reactive functional groups which with complementary reactive functional groups in a crosslinking agent (B) are able to undergo thermal crosslinking reactions, (B) at least one crosslinking agent comprising the complementary reactive functional groups, (C) from 0.2 to 5% by weight, based on solids in the composition, of a bismuth subsalicylate compound having an empirical formula of C 7 H 5 O 4 Bi that is water-insoluble and pulverulent, wherein the bismuth subsalicylate (C) has a bismuth content of from 56.5 to 60% by weight; (D) pigments selected from the group consisting of color pigments, effect pigments, electrically conductive pigments, magnetically shielding pigments, fluorescent pigments, extender pigments, anticorrosion pigments, organic pigments, inorganic pigments, and mixtures comprising at least one of the foregoing; and (E) a grinding resin; wherein the electrocoat composition is made by mixing and milling the grinding resin and the pigments, in combination with the bismuth subsalicylate, in a means for obtaining fineness of mixture to form a storage stable pigment paste, and then combining the pigment paste with a dispersion comprising the binder and crosslinking agent.