Aluminum Pretreatment
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SafeGard CC-6100 - When painting aluminum you must use a conversion coating pretreatment to ensure long term paint or powder coating life. RoHS compliant SafeGard CC is a cold applied conversion coating for aluminum that reacts in a few seconds to give a golden-brown coating with excellent paint adhesion and aluminum corrosion resistance. SafeGard CC-6100 aluminum pretreatment was initially used by job shops for small parts that needed a protective coating before final assembly. This conversion coating for aluminum is also chosen by prototype labs who no longer wanted to use alodine chromium based products before painting aluminum, but need the alodine chromate corrosion performance. All SafeGard CC surface finishing products and aluminum cleaners are chromium-free.
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Sanchem's SafeGard CC-6100 aluminum conversion coating is also very effective for pretreating large structures that cannot be dipped in a standard size dip tank.
 Figure A:Cleaned metal surface of plane with SafeGard CC-6100C. |
 Figure B:SafeGard 6100 sprayed on plane's surface. |
 Figure C:Conversion Coated surface of plane. |
 Figure D:Conversion Coated and painted surface of plane. |
Painting aluminum is easy and identifiable with SafeGard C-6100. Figure C shows the golden color of the aluminum surface after treatment. The visual identification (golden brown color) lets you know that the surface has been properly protected. Any place where the aluminum pretreatment coating did not react would identify surface locations that should be cleaned again and retreated before painting aluminum.
Who has tested and Approved SafeGard CC-6100?
Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) – tested SafeGard CC-6100 w/CC-3400seal#2, Conclusion: passed the Mil-C-5541 corrosion requirements and wet tape Adhesion Test.
The Boeing Company St Louis, MO: – Passed all test requirements: ASTM B117: salt spray testing per Mil-C-5541, Dry & Wet Tape Adhesion Testing and Contact Electrical Resistance.
3M’s Scotchlite Reflective Sheeting for Traffic Signs – SafeGard CC-3400 is 3M approved. Passed 3M’s 6 months outdoor exposure testing requirement at LaQue Corrosion at Wrightville, Beach, NC.
Which SafeGard Chemical Conversion Coating do I need?
| SafeGard CC | 3000 | 3000 w/ 3400seal#2 | 3400 | 3400Seal#2 | 3400 w/ 3400seal#2 | 4100 | 6100 |
| RoHS Compliant | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Coating Color | clear | clear | clear to gold | clear | clear to gold | clear | gold to brown |
| Electrical Contact Resistance Mil- DTL5541 | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Application Temperature | 200 F | 130-140 F | 130-140F | Room temperature | 130-140 F | room temp. | room temp |
| Heat Cured: 200F | no | Yes | no | Yes | Yes | no | no |
| Salt Spray ASTM B117 on 5052 Aluminum | over 1000hr | over 1000hr | over 500hr | over 500hr | over 1000hr | Not Tested | over 500hr |
| Painted Salt Spray with Duranar UC40580XL | 3000 hr | Not Tested | 3000 hr | Not Tested | 3000 hr | Not Tested | 3000 hr |
| Salt Spray ASTM B117 380 Cast Aluminum | Not Tested | 360 hr | Not Tested | 168 hr | 168 hr | n/a | n/a |
| Humidity Testing ASTM D-2247 | 1000 hr | 1000 hr | 360 hr | 1000 hr | 1000 hr | 1000 hr | 360 hr |
| Outdoor Oceanfront Exposure: 6 mo | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Not Tested | Not Tested |
| Tape Adhesion Per ASTM D3359 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Not Tested | Not Tested |
SafeGard CC-3400 - This RoHS compliant aluminum pretreatment will give you a clear coating in 30 seconds and a gold color in 1 minute. This economical conversion coating for aluminum is electrically conductive, UV stable, heat resistant, provides excellent corrosion resistance and paint adhesion. Used extensively when surface finishing with paints and powder coating applications (Qualicoat Approved).
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SafeGard CC-3400
SafeGard CC-3400Seal#2
SafeGard CC-Seal#2 is a reactive chemical conversion coating that can be used to give you a long-term clear shine on aluminum. Due to the reactive bond with the aluminum, this coating will not wash off at the car wash, in high humidity or by the ocean. This final seal will help you achieve maximum corrosion resistance and paint adhesion on corrosion susceptible alloys such as 2024 aluminum and 380-cast aluminum.
Comparison Corrosion Performance Of Polymers On Aluminum And Its Alloys (PDF)
AIR FORCE RESEARCH LABORATORY
"NON-CHROMATED CONVERSION COATINGS TESTING AND EVALUATION"
| Conversion Coating Manufacturer | Aluminum Alloy |
24 Hours | 96 Hours | 168 Hours | 336 Hours | |
| Henkel Alodine 1200S Chromate Conversion coating |
2024-T3 | No evid. of corrosion | No evid. of corrosion | No evid. of corrosion | No evid. of corrosion | Pass |
| 7075-T6 | No evid. of corrosion | 1 pit total (5 panels) | 1 pit total (5 panels) | 1 pit total (5 panels) | Pass | |
| Sanchem chromate-free SafeGard CC-6100 with SafeGard CC-3400seal#2 |
2024-T3 | No evid. of corrosion | No evid. of corrosion | 2 pit total (5 panels) | 4 pit total (5 panels) | Pass |
| 7075-T6 | No evid. of corrosion | No evid. of corrosion | No evid. of corrosion | No evid. of corrosion | Pass | |
| Wetting agents with fluorides &n-methyl pyrrolidone | 2024-T3 | Moderate Corrosion | Medium Corrosion | Severe Corrosion | Severe Corrosion | Fail |
| 7075-T6 | > 50 pits per panel | > 100 pits per panel | Slight Corrosion | Severe Corrosion | Fail |
| Corrosion Scale: (% Surface area) |
(0%) | (1%) | (1% - 3%) | (15% - 50%) | (> 50%) |
| Severe | None | 100 pits | Slight | Moderate | |
SafeGard 4100 - Dry in place aluminum pretreatment to prevent aluminum corrosion and discoloration under humid conditions. SafeGard CC-4100 is not affected by heat so it is often used in areas that reach high heat such as 400-500 F. Used to prevent corrosion on in process aluminum parts, and as a surface treatment before painting aluminum.
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Radiators treated with SafeGard CC-3400
Parts treated w/SafeGard CC-3400 ready powder coat.
Additional Products for Aluminum:
SafeGard CC-5000 is a chromate-free inorganic seal for anodizing and aluminum oxide coatings. SafeGard CC-5000 is a direct replacement for standard dichromate seal used in military applications specification MIL-A8625C. It contains no organics or toxic environmentally unfriendly inorganic. Will not breakdown with heat above 160 F as will dichromate seals, almost identical color to final product and is used at almost the same temperature and time as a chromate seal. This is not an iron phosphate coating.
SafeGard CC - Seal#10 - Enhances paint and coating adhesion specifically from filiform corrosion on aluminum castings such as (380, 383, 360, aluminum zinc die castings). This product is to be used with either the SafeGard CC-3000 or the SafeGard CC-3400. Seal#10 is an environmentally safe, clear seal that is applied at room temperature.
Sanchem 1000 deoxidizer/desmutter - Thoroughly removes anodizing and difficult black-brown stains caused by an aggressive alkaline aluminum cleaner. Sanchem 1000 prevents short term surface oxidation making it perfect to passivate the metal prior to anodizing, plating or conversion coating. This nitric acid based deoxidizer contains no fluorides, chromates, or other heavy metals. Studies at Boeing concluded that it will effectively remove anodizing when used at 140F without causing any endgrain pitting.
- Sanchem 1000 remove anodizing, heat scale oxides, aluminum oxide coatings, surface oxides and smut created when using alkaline etches better than competitive deoxidizers in Auger Electron Spectroscopy (AES) and surface conductivity testing.
- Stable solution does not sludge and has 3x longer bathlife than chromate-type.
- Easy to monitor and maintain, only nitric acid and Sanchem 1000 are needed to maintain the bath.
- Sanchem 1000 remove anodizing finishes without attacking the aluminum surface below.
- Simple Disposal - contains no chromate, peroxide, fluorides, sulfates, ammonia salts, amines, organics or other environmentally sensitive materials.