thumb|right|alt=Tank Ace Michael Wittmann, wearing Waffen SS dress uniform, sits atop the main gun of his Tiger tank. The tank is covered in a ridged paste.|Close view of Zimmerit on the turret and hull of [[Michael Wittmann's Tiger I.]]
thumb|right|Close view of Zimmerit on the corner of a Tiger II
thumb|right|Close view of Zimmerit on the glacis of a Tiger II
Zimmerit was a paste-like coating used on mid- and late-war German armored fighting vehicles during World War II. It was used to produce a hard layer covering the metal armor of the vehicle, providing enough separation that magnetically attached anti-tank mines would fail to stick to the vehicle, despite Germany being the only country to use magnetic anti-tank mines in numbers. Zimmerit was often left off late-war vehicles due to the unfounded concern that it could catch fire when hit. It was developed by the German company Chemische Werke Zimmer & Co (Berlin).
Operation
The coating was a barrier that prevented direct contact of magnetic mines with metal surfaces of vehicles. The magnetostatic field decreases very rapidly, with the cube of distance; the non-magnetic coating holds the magnet of the mine too far from the steel of the vehicle for it to adhere. This was due to concerns that projectile impacts could ignite it. These proved false, but the order was never rescinded. but it was not implemented. No similar material was used on post-war tanks as the widespread use of man-portable HEAT rockets such as the bazooka made magnetic mines obsolete.
Ingredients
thumb|Squares pattern
The paste was composed of the following:
- 40% barium sulfate – BaSO<sub>4</sub>
- 25% polyvinyl acetate – PVA (similar to white school glue)
- 15% pigment (ochre)
- 10% zinc sulfide – ZnS
- 10% sawdust
In the raw paste, polyvinyl acetate was used in the form of "Mowilith 20", a 50% benzene solution.