The necessary precursor to a proper and durable finish is the preparation of the active aluminum surface to receive the desired protective finish that will allow it to have a long and attractive service life. This article helps those who work with aluminum in the many varieties of applications of such products. It describes the two main categories of cleaning that can be used with most any metal, namely, mechanical cleaning and chemical cleaning. The article provides a discussion on the laboratory evaluation of cleaners, field testing of cleaners, and cleaner types and procedures. It also describes the special cleaning procedures for aluminum alloys, such as steam cleaning and rotary wire-brush cleaning. The article reviews the use of temporary coatings and the use of maintenance coatings on aluminum. It provides information on the handling and storage procedures of aluminum alloys and the cleaning of specific applications of aluminum.

Mechanical finishes usually can be applied to aluminum using the same equipment used for other metals. This article describes the two types of grinding used in mechanical finishing: abrasive belt grinding and abrasive wheel grinding. It reviews the binders and fluid carriers used in buffing, and discusses satin finishing and barrel finishing. It also describes lapping and honing techniques that are of special interest in treating aluminum parts that have received hard anodic coatings. Honing recommendations for aluminum alloys are presented in a table.

Coating of cast irons is done to improve appearance and resistance to degradation due to corrosion, erosion, and wear. This article describes inorganic coating methods commonly applied to cast irons. The coating methods include plating, hot dip coating, conversion coating, diffusion coating, cladding, porcelain enameling, and thermal spray. Organic coatings have a wide variety of properties, but their primary use is for corrosion resistance combined with a pleasing colored appearance. The article discusses the various types of organic coatings applied to cast irons. Practically any degree of smoothness or roughness and requirement for color and gloss can be filled by organic coatings. The article describes abrasive blast cleaning, abrasive waterjet cleaning and finishing, vibratory finishing, barrel finishing, and shot peening for processing iron castings.

This article reviews the steps involved in presurface-preparation inspection: substrate replacement; removal of weld spatter, rounding of sharp edges, and grinding of slivers/laminations; and removal of rust scale, grease, oil, and chemical (soluble salt) contamination. It focuses on surface preparation methods that range from simple solvent cleaning to hand and power tool cleaning, dry and wet abrasive blast cleaning, centrifugal wheel blast cleaning, chemical stripping, and waterjetting for the application of the coating system. In addition, the article provides a description of the Society for Protective Coatings' (SSPC) standards and NACE International standards as well as the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standards and International Concrete Repair Institute (ICRI) guidelines for surface cleanliness.

Thermal spray coating involves certain precoating operations, such as cleaning, surface preparation, and masking, that are critical to the overall quality of the coating system. In addition to these, certain other elements are considered prior to the coating, namely, customer requirements, coating function, part geometry, substrate metallurgy, structure, and thermal history. This article provides a detailed account of the various processes of surface preparation, namely, cleaning, roughening, dry abrasive grit blasting, and machining and macro roughening processes. It outlines the masking and fixturing techniques and stripping of coatings.

After solidification and cooling, further processing and finishing of the castings are required. This article describes the general operations of shakeout, grinding, cleaning, and inspection of castings, with particular emphasis on automation technology. It illustrates the vertical core knockout machine and the A-frame core knockout machine and lists the advantages and disadvantages of these machines. The article describes the general factors in automated or manual gate removal process. It concludes with discussion on the various types of inspection, such as the liquid penetrant inspection, pressure testing, radiographic inspection, magnetic particle inspection, and ultrasonic inspection.

High-pressure die casting is a fast method for the net shape manufacturing of parts from nonferrous alloys. This article reviews the automation technologies for the different stages or steps of the process. These steps include liquid metal pouring, injection, solidification, die open, part extraction, die lubrication, insert loading, and die close. Some manual aspects of the operations, together with automation options, are discussed. The article describes finishing steps, such as finish trimming, detailed deflashing, shot blast cleaning, and quality checks. Automation of the postcasting process is also discussed.

This article provides information on the factors influencing the selection of the proper corrosion-resistant coating system. It focuses on the proper execution of surface preparation and the available surface preparation methods. The preparation process includes the removal of visible contaminants, removal of invisible contaminants, and roughening of the surface. Solvent or chemical washing, steam cleaning, hand tool cleaning, power tool cleaning, water blasting, and abrasive blast cleaning, are some preparation methods discussed. The article describes the most common application techniques of coating as well as the equipment used. An overview of some of the most common coating inspection points and inspection equipment is also provided.

Metal surfaces must often be cleaned before subsequent operations to remove unwanted substances such as pigmented drawing compounds, unpigmented oil and grease, chips and cutting fluids, polishing and buffing compounds, rust and scale, and miscellaneous contaminants. The article describes common cleaning processes, including alkaline, electrolytic, solvent, emulsion, molten salt bath, ultrasonic and acid cleaning as well as pickling and abrasive blasting. It also explains how to select the appropriate process for a given soil type and surface composition.

Although stainless steel is naturally passivated by exposure to air and other oxidizers, additional surface treatments are needed to prevent corrosion. Passivation, pickling, electropolishing, and mechanical cleaning are important surface treatments for the successful performance of stainless steel. This article describes the surface treatment of stainless steels including abrasive blast cleaning, acid pickling, salt bath descaling, passivation treatments, electropolishing, and the necessary coating processes involved. It also describes the surface treatment of heat-resistant alloys including metallic contaminant removal, tarnish removal, oxide and scale removal, finishing, and coating processes.

Zirconium and hafnium surfaces require cleaning and finishing for reasons such as preparation for joining, heat treatment, plating, forming, and producing final surface finishes. This article provides information on various surface treatment processes, surface soil removal, blast cleaning, chemical descaling, pickling or etching, anodizing, autoclaving, polishing, buffing, vapor phase nitriding, and electroplating. Applications of these surface treatment processes are also reviewed.

This article addresses surface cleaning, finishing, and coating operations that have proven to be effective for molybdenum, tungsten, tantalum, and niobium. It describes standard procedures for abrasive blasting, molten caustic processing, acid cleaning, pickling, and solvent and electrolytic cleaning as well as mechanical grinding and finishing. The article also provides information on common plating and coating methods, including electroplating, anodizing, and oxidation-resistant coatings.

This article discusses the procedures used for pickling nickel and nickel alloys. Nickel alloys can be divided into four groups: high-nickel alloys, nickel-copper alloys, nickel-chromium alloys, and nickel-iron-chromium alloys. Alloys within each composition group that has similar surface conditions are pickled in the same solutions using the same procedures. The article discusses three different surface conditions for pickling these nickel alloys: bright annealed white surface requiring removal of tarnish by flash pickling; bright annealed oxidized surface requiring removal of a layer of reduced oxide, sometimes followed by a flash pickle to brighten; and black or dark-colored surface requiring removal of adherent oxide film or scale. The article also reviews specialized pickling operations of nickel alloys and various cleaning and finishing operations, including grinding, polishing, buffing, brushing, and blasting.

Mechanical cleaning systems are used to remove contaminants of work surface by propelling abrasive materials through any of these three principal methods: airless centrifugal blast blade- or vane-type wheels; compressed air, direct-pressure dry blast nozzle systems; or compressed-air, indirect-suction (induction) wet or dry blast nozzle systems. This article focuses on the abrasive media, equipment, applications, and limitations of dry and wet blast cleaning. It discusses the health and safety precautions to be taken during mechanical cleaning.

Aluminum or aluminum alloy products have various types of finishes applied to their surfaces to enhance appearance or improve functional properties. This article discusses the procedures, considerations, and applications of various methods employed in the cleaning, finishing, and coating of aluminum. These include abrasive blast cleaning, barrel finishing, polishing, buffing, satin finishing, chemical cleaning, chemical brightening, electrolytic brightening, chemical etching, alkaline etching, acid etching, chemical conversion coating, electroplating, immersion plating, electroless plating, porcelain enameling, and shot peening.

The selection of surface treatments for copper and copper alloys is generally based on application requirements for appearance and corrosion resistance. This article describes cleaning, finishing, and coating processes for copper and copper alloys. These processes include pickling and bright dipping, abrasive blast cleaning, chemical and electrochemical cleaning, mass finishing, polishing and buffing, electroless plating, immersion plating, electroplating, passivation, coloring, and organic coatings.