Superior pretreatment solutions
Perfectly matched portfolio for efficient processes
Quick facts
- High performance surface pretreatment processes for the surface finishing industry
- Extensive product range for cleaning, etching, activation, pickling, metal stripping and aluminum treatment
- Economical and environmentally conscious products
Applications
- Our pretreatment systems meet the needs of many industries including automotive, sanitary, fastener, electrical and construction
- Removal of soils like dirt, oils, waxes, buffing/polishing compounds, oxides, tarnish, smut, fingerprints, lubricants and inhibitors
- Pretreatment solutions for most metal substrates including steel, iron, copper, copper alloys, zinc, zinc alloys, aluminum and nickel
Products and processes
Soak cleaner
Features and benefits
Soak cleaning is typically the first cleaning step that a part encounters when being treated or coated. Our range of emulsifying, rejecting and specialized soak cleaners are tailored to be compatible with dirt and residues left from the part forming and manufacturing processes and ensure that the surfaces are properly prepared for subsequent process steps.
- UniClean® 100 series: a wide range of liquid and powder soak cleaner products tailored to the many varied substrates, soils and applications seen in the surface finishing industry
- Tri-Max® LSC family: liquid products combined with Tri-Max® Base LC-B for automated process control
- Chemproclean: a concentrated detergent product to mix with builders for cleaning steel substrates
Electrocleaner
Features and benefits
Electrocleaning utilizes the power of electrolysis, and the gas bubbles evolved, to enhance the cleaning effect on metal parts. Our range of anodic, cathodic and switched polarity electrocleaners are ideal for removing scale, oxides and rust as well as residues left after soak cleaning to prepare surfaces for plating or further processing prior to plating or coating.
- UniClean® 200 series: a wide range of liquid and powder electrocleaner products tailored to the many varied substrates, soils, smuts, oxides, scales and applications seen in the surface finishing industry
- Tri-Max® LEC family: liquid products combined with Tri-Max Base LC-B for automated process control
- Nonacid® 701: a multipurpose electrocleaner, soak cleaner and activator for ferrous substrates
Pickling additives
Features and benefits
A common step in cleaning metal parts, especially those that have been worked, welded or heat-treated, is to pickle them in strong acid to help loosen scale and oxides as well as other residues prior to further cleaning steps like electrocleaning. Our pickling additives help to improve the effectiveness and speed of the pickling process while reducing surface attack and the effect of hydrogen on the substrates.
- UniClean® 500 series: a range of liquid pickling additives used in combination with mineral acids like hydrochloric and sulfuric to prepare, typically steel, surfaces for the next process step
- Pickling Additive 4090 SM: a non-foaming, liquid inhibitor for steel used in pickling baths
Acid cleaner, activator
Features and benefits
Acid cleaners and activators are typically employed after alkaline soak or electrocleaning steps to make part surfaces sufficiently active to ensure the best adhesion and quality of subsequent plating or coating layers. Atotech acid cleaners and activators are applied on a wide range of metal substrates and surface finishes preparing them for subsequent plating and coating processes.
- UniClean® 600 series: a range of liquid and powder acid cleaner and activator products tailored to remove rust and oxides from different substrates and to activate them ready for further processing
- Actisalt 515: a powdered oxide remover and activator for copper and its alloys and some aluminum alloys
- Roprepp R Special: an alkaline, powdered activator for ferrous substrates that can also be used for pickling
Strippers
Features and benefits
There are two main applications for metal stripping; stripping plated-up racks and stripping plated metal coatings from parts. We offer immersion and electrolytic rack strippers to efficiently remove commonly plated metals from racks with minimal substrate attack. We have efficient immersion strippers to remove commonly plated metals like chromium, nickel, phosphor nickel, tin and copper from steel and aluminum substrates.
- UniStrip® Rackstrip family: electrolytic stripping processes for removing copper and nickel, as well as thin chrome layers, from stainless steel racks and tips as a more effective and user friendly alternative to nitric acid stripping
- UniStrip® series: immersion strippers for a variety of metals and substrates
- UniChrome® 80: an alkaline powder product for electrolytically stripping plated chromium from steel substrates
Aluminum pretreatment
Features and benefits
Due to its unique physical characteristics pretreatment and plating of aluminum requires special processes and techniques. Our long history in aluminum pretreatment has resulted in an extensive portfolio of processes to clean, etch, zincate, color and seal the wide variety of parts made from aluminum alloys substrates
- UniClean® 1020: mild alkaline cleaner for aluminum alloys
- Alumetch® series: liquid etches to remove smut and oxides and to condition aluminum alloys for further processing like plating
- Alumseal® series: products for protecting fresh aluminum surfaces with a zincate or similar coating for best adhesion and results from further processing like plating
- Alumseal® AD series: products for sealing aluminum surfaces including special products for conditioning and coloring prior to zincate or further processes to achieve a specific cosmetic appearance
Featured products
Aluminum pretreatment
Industry proven cleaning and activation processes
Aluminum and its alloys are one of the top metals of choice in the manufacturing industry featuring different micro-structures and surfaces. Correct pretreatment is critical for excellent adhesion, corrosion resistance, and appearance of subsequent coatings.
Atotech pretreatment technologies provide the best plating/coating quality for aluminum and aluminum alloy components.
“Cleaning and activation is the fundamental basis for all metal finishing. Atotech offers leading pretreatment solutions for the many base materials and applications.”
Neil Patton
Global Product Manager Cleaners, Strippers, Pretreatment at Atotech Germany
