Sound technical content, curated with aloha by
Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Pine Beach, NJ
The authoritative public forum
for Metal Finishing since 1989
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Must threads be masked for Clear Alodine/ Iridite
Hello,
I am curious when Alodine is applied to a finished piece with threads do we need to plug the holes or will the threads be fine so we can still place our screws in the holes without any issues?
Regards,
Michelle
Michelle Laramee
engineer - Smithfield, Rhode Island, USA
February 28, 2011
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March 1, 2011
That depends on a lot of things that you did not mention.
You can not treat a panel with a blind 4 x 40 hole the same as a large casting with say a half inch threaded thru hole.
Next it will depend on your process. If you are doing a heavy etch to cover up scratches, No threads will work well. If you are using a nitric-HF deox tank, you better hope that the employee goes to the bathroom with parts in the tank.
Heli-coils are a no-no as they will trap various solutions and are hard to rinse well enough (nearly impossible on a continuing basis).
Alloy and heat treat can make a difference.
I would try a dummy run on scrap parts to see how it works for you.
James Watts
- Navarre, Florida
Hi Michelle,
You will be fine conversion coating your threads, the build up is extremely thin, not measurable by the usual means, so will not affect your threads. The coating is very soft so when you assemble something into the threaded hole there will be no resistance.
Brian Terry
Aerospace - Yeovil, Somerset, UK
March 2, 2011
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