We can ensure your sheet surface or extruded surface has the capability to pass stringent OEM acceptance criteria

Some of the world’s most well-respected and well-known surface experts are at your disposal.

Cleaning and pretreatment systems optimised for aluminium

Many of the cleaning and pretreatment systems on the market today were originally developed for steel. Thankfully, we have a thorough understanding of how these treatments can be optimised for aluminium. What’s more, we’re able to examine your product surface after each process step to make sure both the cleaning and pretreatment are working properly.

Evaluation of coatings and adhesives

We can do this for aluminium sheet, extrusions and all other product forms. We’ll help you choose the correct system and show you how to apply it so it works. This is particularly important for automotive products because the most difficult acceptance tests are to do with bond durability and filiform corrosion.

Corrosion control on coated products and bonded products

The corrosion properties of aluminium sheet are controlled by the presence of deformed surface layers. Controlling corrosion is almost always related to selecting the appropriate cleaning and pretreatment systems to remove these layers. Almost 20 years of research into aluminium corrosion has given us a deep understanding of the subject. This means we can get to the bottom of any corrosion issues you may experience and help you select the best surface treatment system for your products.

Corrosion testing of coated and uncoated products

Our extensive in-house characterisation and analysis capabilities will get to the root cause of any material problem, including corrosion. We’re able to carry out filiform corrosion testing, galvanic corrosion testing and various other standard corrosion tests.

Our blogs

Aluminium pretreatment – a brief overview

Anodised aluminium as a catalyst support

An overview of aluminium surface analysis

Understanding your aluminium oxide surface

Why polymer coatings are a necessary evil

Aluminium surface cleaning – a brief overview

Measuring aluminium surface cleanliness by microscopy

Total reflectance and colour measurements to evaluate aluminium etching

Why paint sticks – it’s all about the pretreatment

Speak to our expert

Colin Butler

With a PhD in Polymer Science and 27 years experience, Colin knows a lot about polymers and coatings on aluminium. His product experience encompasses painted sheet, foil, packaging and automotive applications.