Steel sheet coated by hot dipping with an alloy of lead containing a few to about twenty per cent tin. Terne was long used for car fuel tanks, roofing and deep-drawn parts because the soft coating lubricates the die and solders easily, but lead restrictions have pushed it out of most uses; zinc-nickel, aluminized and tin-zinc coated steels and stainless steel have replaced it.
Also called
Terne
Terne coated steel
Long terne
Short terne
Lead-coated steel
Lead-tin coated sheet
TCS
Terne II
AR
صفائح الترن (صلب مطلي بسبيكة الرصاص والقصدير)
ZH
镀铅锡合金钢板（铅锡板）
DE
Terneblech (Blei-Zinn-beschichtetes Blech)
FR
Tôle plombée (fer terne)
ES
Chapa terne (emplomada)
IT
Lamiera terne (piombata)
TR
Kurşun-kalay kaplı sac (terne)
RU
Освинцованная сталь (терне-покрытие)
Main formsCoils and sheets (long terne); terne-coated stainless and copper for roofing
Typical sizesThickness about 0.2–2.0 mm; coating stated in oz/ft² or g/m² both sides
Main standardsASTM A308 (withdrawn 2015, no replacement)
Key gradesCommercial, drawing, deep-drawing and structural steel bases
The name comes from the French terne, dull: the lead-tin coating has a matt grey surface, unlike the bright finish of tinplate. Lead alone does not wet steel, so tin is added — 3 to 15 % in 'long terne' sheet for general use, more in short terne for special purposes. The coating is applied in a hot-dip bath, usually on cold rolled sheet.
Terne coating is soft and slippery, so it acts as a lubricant in deep drawing; it solders very easily; and it resists petrol, which made long terne the standard material for car fuel tanks for decades. Terne-coated steel and later terne-coated stainless steel were also used for roofing and flashing because the coating weathers to a protective dark grey.
Because of the lead, terne has been phased out of most applications. Vehicle and electrical-equipment rules in Europe and elsewhere restrict lead, and modern fuel tanks are plastic or made of zinc-nickel coated, aluminized or stainless steel. Roofing materials sold as 'terne' today are often tin-zinc coated stainless steel or copper rather than true lead-tin. The ASTM specification for terne sheet, A308, was withdrawn in 2015 for lack of use.
Terne plate is not a stock product in the Middle East. Enquiries usually concern replacement parts or heritage roofing, and buyers are normally better served by aluminized steel, tinplate or stainless steel, depending on the use.
Forms & sizes
Long terne sheet
Cold rolled steel coated with lead and about 3–15 % tin; coils and sheets
Terne-coated stainless (TCS)
Stainless steel roofing coated with terne alloy; newer versions use tin-zinc in place of lead
Replacements
Zinc-nickel electroplated, aluminized, Al-Zn coated or stainless sheet, depending on the application
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