Influence of surface pretreatment and electrocoating parameters on the adhesion of cathodic electrocoat to the Al alloy surfaces

Adhesion of cathodic electrocoat films to the aluminum alloys 2024-T3 bare and Alclad 2024-T3 with different pretreatments and with different cathodic electrocoat process parameters was investigated. The pretreatments studied were acetone wipe and alkaline cleaning. The cathodic electrocoat process parameters studied include variation of cathodic electrocoating voltage and time. Adhesion performance was evaluated by measuring the delamination time and percent delamination of the electrocoat from the alloy surface by placing the small specimen of the sample in the N-methyl pyrrolidinone (NMP) solution at 60 degrees C until the film lifts off or for 2 h whichever comes first. NMP times for electrodeposited film delamination from alkaline cleaned surfaces were found to be higher than the acetone wiped and or those of as-supplied metal surfaces. There was not much effect of acetone cleaning of these alloy surfaces on the adhesion performance of the cathodic electrocoat. The voltage-current (of cathodic electrocoating process) relationships for alkaline cleaned surfaces were also found to be significantly different from the other two types of surfaces. The NMP times of cathodic electrocoat delamination at lower cathodic electrocoating voltage and lower electrocoating times were higher than those at higher cathodic electrocoating voltage and electrocoating times for alkaline cleaned 2024 bare surfaces. Electrocoat thickness developed on the surfaces during the electrodeposition process increased with increasing electrodeposition voltage and time as anticipated. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.