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Sound technical content, curated with aloha by
Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Pine Beach, NJ

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Cleaning Aluminized tubes to ISO 16232

Q. Hello,

I have a customer who would like to clean aluminized steel tubes 4-6" in diameter 5 to 7 feet long. In order to meet the cleanliness standards of ISO 16232 they intend on an ultrasonic wash, spray wash, and rinses. I am wondering if anyone has had experiences of removing the aluminum coating either with the ultrasonic cleaning or with the spray wash impingement.

Any info on special precautions for cleaning aluminized steel tubes would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you for your consideration,

Tim Bartlett
Account Manager - Pontiac, Michigan
May 10, 2018apologies, not posted until 2nd Request 6/13/2018

A. Hi Tim

I think if you use 25 or 40 khz you would have a greater risk than if you use something higher like 270 or 400 khz. But then you need to consider the contaminant and what frequency is better suited for its removal.

In my experience 6xxx alloys handled U/S better than 2xxx or 7xxx alloys that had been anodized; Type II or Type III.

Willie Alexander
- Green Mountain Falls, Colorado
June 13, 2018

June 2018

Aluminized_steel

A. Tim, I think you have steel tubes that are coated with hot-dipped aluminum if I am understanding "aluminized" correctly. I doubt that either ultrasonic washing or pressure washing will hurt the coating as long as the pH is kept close to neutral. But aluminum readily dissolves in caustics.

We love Willie's constant helpfulness, but I think he may have read too fast this time thinking this was the popular anodized aluminum vs. ultrasonics subject :-)

Regards,

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

Tim

Ted's assessment of my speed-reading skill is correct.

Willie Alexander
- Green Mountain Falls, Colorado
June 14, 2018

Thank you for the answers, Yes I was more curious about hot dipped steel tubes into aluminum. I am removing lube and general dirt to meet the ISO 16232 spec and just wanted to see if anyone had done a similar application before.

tim Bartlett
- Pontiac, Michigan, USA
June 18, 2018

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