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Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Pine Beach, NJ

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What are the differences between Alodine 600 and the Alodine 1132 touch up pen

Q. What is the difference between Alodine 1200 and Alodine 1132? Can Alodine 1132 be used in place of Alodine 1200 ?

MIKE W [surname deleted for privacy by Editor]
Aircraft Structural Engineer - BIRMINGHAM, Alabama
2004

A. A thought. Why would you believe someone that you do not know from this site, when you can ask the mfgr. who is liable for his information and certainly is the most knowledgable of those products?

James Watts
- Navarre, Florida
2004

A. Hi Mike. The short answer is that Alodine 1132 is a touch-up product designed for use in a special pen. If you are doing any MIL-SPEC work, different products are only on the "Qualified Products List" for certain application methods, i.e., you're probably not allowed to use Alodine 1200 in a pen nor Alodine 1132 in a dip tank.

Unfortunately, sometimes if you're not actually a buyer of a product in large quantities, it can be difficult to get a personalized technical answer from the manufacturer :-)

Luck & Regards,

Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey

Multiple threads merged: please forgive chronology errors :-)

What if Alodine surface is left unpainted?

We just recently received our first order of Alodine 1132 TNP pen and I'm wondering what could happen if we apply the Alodine and leave the surface without paint. The material is some kind of aluminum for aircraft's electronics box.

Jose
Electronics supplier - Jacksonville, Florida, USA
2004

A. The pen is for touch up. You can do the same thing with a rag and chromate compound. Put it on heavy, dark, for leaving bare. Put it on very light if it is to be painted over. Either way meets Mil Spec.

Robert H Probert
Robert H Probert Technical Services

Garner, North Carolina

2004

Multiple threads merged: please forgive chronology errors :-)

Need Alodine 1132 in bulk

Q. WHERE CAN I GET ALODINE 1132 IN BULK W/O HAVING TO GET IT IN THE TOUCH-N-PREP PEN?

DWIGHT LUPER
AVIATION - AURORA, Colorado
2005

A. Hi Dwight. We attached your question to a thread which makes the issue clearer: Alodine 1132 is for touch-up use in a pen, not for use in a dip tank, so it's not available in bulk. But more generally "Alodine" is a trade name for one brand of MIL-DTL-5541 [on DLA] chromate conversion coatings for aluminum and is readily available in bulk under different numbers. It's a trademark of Henkel, and you may wish to contact them directly for questions specific to Alodine.

RoHS and other international standards are rapidly rendering the use of hexavalent chromate conversion coatings problematical. You may may wish to search the site for threads about TCP (trivalent chromate product) as a Mil-approved replacement for hexavalent chromates.

Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey

Multiple threads merged: please forgive chronology errors :-)

Q. I have an Aerospace machining part for treatments in which the drawing calls up Alodine 600 to be used on a small section of the component where anodise and paint are being omitted due to electrical bonding during a later assembly. We only use Alodine 1200 which I'm being told cannot be used because the film it creates is to thick for Class 3 conversion coating. We have started using the 1132 Touch N Prep pens and I wondered if they could be used as an alternative because I've read it can produce Class 1A or Class 3 coating depending on the duration of use.
Does Alodine 1132 work as a substitute for Alodine 600?
Can an Aerospace drawing which quotes Alodine 600 use an alternative which still falls within the quoted specs?

Neil Meadowcroft
Brookhouse Aerospace - Hyde, Cheshire, England
2006

A. Read MIL-DTL-81706B and QPL-81706-16 (available from ASSIST).

Alodine 600 is qualified for both Type 1A & 3 coatings using Methods A (Spray), B (Brush-on or wipe-on), C (Immersion).
Alodine 1132 Touch-N-Prep Pen is only qualified for Type 1A, using Method D (Applicator pen or presaturated applicator device).
Alodine 1200 is qualified for Type 1A using Methods A, B, C and for Type 3 using Method C.

For Class 3 coatings, Alodine 1132 cannot be used, Alodine 600 can be applied by Methods A, B, C, and Alodine 1200 requires Method C. For both Alodine 600 & 1200, the difference between Types 1A & 3 coatings is primarily a function of application time. Check the product bulletins from Henkel.

Whether Alodine 1200 can be used in your application depends whether the Alodine 600 requirement includes "or equivalent."

Ken Vlach [deceased]
- Goleta, California

Finishing.com honored Ken for his countless carefully researched responses. He passed away May 14, 2015.
Rest in peace, Ken. Thank you for your hard work which the finishing world, and we at finishing.com, continue to benefit from.
2006

A. Neil,

Be very careful here, we are talking aerospace parts and the Alodine is quoted on the drawing. Whatever you do do not make a unilateral decision, talk to your customer.

There may be very good design reasons that Alodine 600 has been called up. A touch up pen may not have been approved by them, in which case using an unapproved product may mean you end up scrapping the parts.

All products used in aerospace are vigorously tested for their suitability for use in aerospace applications. These processes cannot be easily changed due to safety reasons. For this reason, before you go any further, you must talk to your customer and ask whether they will allow you to change.

Brian Terry
Aerospace - Yeovil, Somerset, UK
2006

A. Mathematically the difference is 532 but in the spec rigid aerospace field, the difference is in light years! My guess is that if you say nothing, no one will know, however, should it come out - every job you've ever supplied becomes suspect. Is you and your firm's reputation worth it? In our present day Nadcap world, we disclose all to the customer and make them make the call. "This is what I can do with the tools, equipment, chemistry I have - if you want it exactly to the spec, it will be $xxxx extra."

Milt Stevenson, Jr.
Syracuse, New York
2006

Thanks for the info, after reading the responses and re-reading my question it's possibly clearer to pose the question as: Is it the Type/Class that is important or the chemical it was carried out with?
If the drawing had called the same spec but without mentioning Alocrom '600' the spec would have lead me to a choice between 600 & 1200 and no-one would have queried it.

Neil Meadowcroft
Brookhouse Aerospace - Hyde, Cheshire, England
2006

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