Aluminium Anodizing

Anodizing, like all industrial surface treatment processes, involves a series of stages to ensure its technical features and finishes quality, for which we offer an extensive Catalog of Products.

Properties of anodized aluminium

Resistance

Increases resistance to aluminium corrosion.

Durability

Increases durability and weatherability.

Colouring

Allows decorative finishes, with the possibility of colouring the anodic layer later by chemical or electrochemical way.

Insulation

Provides electrical insulation to the surface.

Painting

Provides an excellent base for secondary coatings such as paints.

Catalog of Products for Anodizing

DEGREASING

ETCHING

NEUTRALIZING

ANODIZING

COLOURING

SEALING

DEGREASING

ETCHING

NEUTRALIZING

ANODIZING

COLOURING

SEALING

DEGREASING

To obtain a good final finish quality it is necessary to perform an optimum degreasing.

ALKALINE DEGREASING

Products specially designed for the removal of fats and oils resulting from chemical polishing pastes.

  • ALUPROP. A range of slightly alkaline degreasing products, specifically formulated for the removal of oils and greases from extruded aluminum, maintaining the high gloss obtained by previous polishing.

ACID DEGREASING

Degreasing products for anodizing especially indicated to remove traces of fats and cutting oils from aluminum profiles. Its application is especially recommended for pre-brushed materials, where the mechanical treatment is water-cooled.

  • DESENCID. Products of strongly acidic nature, with surfactants of high emulsifying power and low foaming power.

Optimal Removal of precorrosions

Elimination of Fat and Oils

Removal of polishing paste

ETCHING

The main purpose of the industrial process of aluminum etching is to achieve a matt decorative finish in addition to eliminating or disguising the lines or marks from the extrusion process and hiding or minimizing small defects such as scratches or corrosion spots.

ALKALINE ETCHING

Range of long-lasting additives, allowing to obtain highly decorative and fine-grained finishes, with a gloss that can reach an average of 7% (60 ° gloss-meter) in maintenance.

  • ALSAT. Range of anti-stone additives for etching baths at anodizing lines. +info

  • ALSAT 195LV. Long-lasting etching. Its formula contains additives that affect surface tension and improve washing properties. Matte finishes, highly decorative and free of “galvanized” effect, thanks to a highly balanced formula. +info

  • ALSAT FLASH MATT. Long-lasting etching. Its formula contains surfactants with great fluidizing power, providing very favorable conditions for draining and elimination of alkaline residues. Matte finishes of high quality and very fine grain. +info

ACID ETCHING

Stage of aluminum etching, to obtain highly decorative matte finishes with products of acid nature. Obtaining of low gloss finishes with short process times. The dissolution of aluminum for an acid etching is much lower than that produced by the more commonly used methods of alkaline etchings.

  • ALSAT AC. Range of solid products designed for the formation and maintenance of etching baths at anodizing lines. Its use allows to achieve on aluminum results of very low brightness degree (5-9% with gloss-meter in 60° angle) while achieving a reduction of time, costs and waste in the process. +info

Obtaining matt even surfaces

Deep surface attack eliminating impurities and extrusion marks

Eliminates layers of natural oxide, being possibly to des-anodize for reprocessing

Short processing times

Energy costs reduction

Reduction of rejection percentage in extrusion

NEUTRALIZING

Our range of additives for neutralizing allow to eliminate the classic baths formulated exclusively through the use of nitric acid, and to replace them by the use of a mixture of different additives in order to obtain the optimum neutralization of the soda residues and perfect activation of the aluminum surface, leaving it clean and ready for the anodizing process.

  • ALSAT DES. Liquid additive for the perfect neutralizing with sulfuric acid. It facilitates the removal of powdery oxides on the surface and it can be automatically dosed avoiding handling. +info

  • ALSAT DESOX | ALSAT DESOX 3 | ALSAT DESOX 5 . Solid additives that facilitate the removal of powdery oxides on the surface. Highly reinforced with strongly oxidizing products and corrosion inhibitors. +info

Removal alloy-forming surface oxide on surface

Inhibition of corrosion

Optimal cleaning before the anodizing stage

ANODIZING

The sulfuric electrolyte is the most widely used for decorative purposes, since the anodic layers obtained by this procedure are transparent, porous and allow their subsequent coloration, maintaining the metallic appearance of aluminum. Our additives allow expanding the range of optimum parameters recommended for anodizing.

  • ALPRO S. Solid additives, specially designed to minimize the chemical attack effect of the electrolyte towards the anodic layer. They allow to obtain anodic layers without “burnt” effect at electrolyte temperatures of 28°C. +info

  • ALPRO. Liquid additives whose special composition allows maintaining temperatures in the anodizing electrolytes up to 26°C without causing a deterioration of the anodic layer. Thanks to their liquid form and the possibility of automatic dosing, they contribute to reduce the possible labor risks at the working processes. +info

Increasing the working range

Obtaining harder anodic layers

Energy Saving

COLOURING

Within the various colouring techniques existing in the market, such as integral, organic and inorganic, electrolytic and by interference, Alsan, since its inception, has specialized in the manufacture of own colouring electrolytes and in the development of own colouring technology for bronze and interference baths. In this way, we can offer a complete service of colouring to guarantee optimal results in the finishes of our clients.

Electrolytic Colouring

Bronze Colouring

Alsan is manufacturer of tin sulphate products, with REACH registration, which allows us to offer a wide variety of products, all of them based on 99.95% pure tin metal.

  • Elcosan® 250. Solutions of tin sulphate at 250 g / l. Allow automatic dosing.
  • Elcosan® 225. Solutions of liquid tin sulphate at 225 g / l. Allow automatic dosing.
  • Elcosan® VL. Solutions of tin sulphate at 200 g / l with stabilizer. Allow automatic dosing.
  • TIN SULFATE. Solid salts of tin sulphate.
  • Stabilizers Elcosan® STAB | 09 | 09ST | STM . Wide range of bronze bath stabilizing additives specially developed to improve electrolyte penetration and maintain baths transparent, clean and free of suspended particles.

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Elcosan® Ni Colouring

Electrolytes formulated using nickel sulphate to obtain bronze shades.

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Elcosan® Tangea Tones Colouring

Range of electrolytic colors in earth tones formulated to obtain unique and unlimited colors and with a great flexibility of work.

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Colouring by interference

Our Elcosan® Rainbow equipments, built with our own technology, together with our electrolytes specially designed for the application of this technique have enabled us since 1989 to obtain the necessary experience to achieve excellent results of reproducibility, homogeneous coloration and low percentage of rejection in productions of anodized blue, green and gray.

  • RAINBOW ADDITIVE. Additive specially designed for the pore opening phase of the anodic layer that acts on the barrier layer favoring the uniformity in its final coloration.

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Red Colouring

Electrolytes based on copper salts to obtain colours from rosy to black, through red and burgundy, depending on the time of deposition.

  • RBS ADDITIVE. Solid copper-based salts and stabilizers for reinforcement of penetration of red-coloration electrolytes.

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Gold Colouring

Electrolytes based on manganese salts, to obtain electrolytic gold coloration.

  • Elcosan® OP. Manganese salts and stabilizer to improve the penetration of electrolytic gold baths.

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Excellent resistance and colour uniformity

Colour reproducibility guarantee

Excellent color stability

Organic and Inorganic Colouring

The chemical colouring occurs by the adsorption of salts and / or pigments on the surface of the pores of the newly made anodizing layers. +info

  • ALSAN GOLD COLOURING. Inorganic salts for colouring by immersion in gold tones.

  • SUPRADYE. Organic products for dyeing by adsorption of anodic layers. Wide range of coloration: black, blue, red, green, gray.

SEALING

In order for the porous anodic film to be perfectly protected against corrosion, it is necessary to seal the anodic layer. In this way, the metal loses its absorbing power, and remains protected from aggressive exposure environments.

Sealing by Hydration

This is the simplest technique that exists. Its process consists of converting the aluminum oxide into boehmite, introducing the material into deionized water at a temperature close to the boiling point.

  • ADITIVOS PR. Range of additives to eliminate the effect of “sealing dust”, typical of hydration systems.

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Medium temperature sealing

The medium temperature sealing is a catalyzed hydration sealing, so that hydrolysis of the alumina oxide occurs at a lower working temperature.

  • MEDSEAL® 08. Medium temperature sealing product approved by Qualanod Nº Q-07. This sealing is free of toxic metals. Working temperature 85 ºC.
  • MEDSEAL® 90. Sealing at medium temperature with nickel, achieving good sealing qualities from 75ºC on.

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Cold sealing

Sealing by impregnation or physical sealing of anodic layers. Composed primarily of nickel salts, in the presence of fluoride ions, which act as catalysts for the sealing reaction to be carried out.

  • FRIOFIX® 85 IN | 85 | 38. Solid nickel salts for the perfect cold sealing of anodic layers. Some products contain “anti-green” additives to minimize the typical slight tonality of cold sealings caused by the presence of nickel salts.
  • FRIOFIX® SF | SF-2 | 2 | 38SFN. Fluorine regenerating additives for the maintenance of the baths within the appropriate working parameters.
  • FRIOFIX® I | 522 | IC. Reinforcement products to minimize the greenish effect of nickel salts on the sealed material.

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Ecological cold sealing

Ecological product, free of heavy metals, for sealing by impregnation or physical sealing, in cold.

  • FRIOFIX® ECOLINE. Product approved by Qualanod.

The main features of this new product are:

  • Lower processing time
  • Elimination of the typical “sealing dust”
  • Exempt from toxic or hazardous metals

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Sealing for Hard Anodizing

GlideCoat® is a sealing process of new generation that allows to get anodic layers with low coefficients of friction.

It has its origin in the so-called “LOTUS EFFECT” from the lotus flower, which is able to keep its leaves clean thanks to its hydrophobic properties, i.e., they have a certain impermeability. This is why water droplets run off of the leaf surface as if they were mercury drops, sweeping away dust and dirt.

Features of GlideCoat®

  • Low friction coefficient: friction coefficients less than 0,08-0,13 according to ASTM D 1894 standard.
  • Increase of abrasion resistance (ASTM D 4060 / ISO 7784/2).
  • Compliance with the standard MIL-A-63576 type I.
  • Anodic layers repellent to water and dirt.
  • Good sealing quality: ISO 2413 / ASTM B680, ISO 2413.
  • Excellent resistance to chemical agents and corrosion.

Ensures the final quality of aluminum

Consolidates the insulating and dielectric power of the anodizing

Greater protection against corrosion and chemical agents