Choose agents by treatment stage
Pre/post-treatment agents serve specific substrates and subsequent coatings. Below, existing data is organized by process step to help you describe your needs; no single agent is treated as a universal formulation for all substrates.
| Step | Agent direction | To confirm when selecting |
|---|---|---|
| Cleaning & degreasing | Degreasing, chemical degreasing and electrolytic degreasing; removes cutting oil, stamping oil and surface contaminants. | Substrate, contamination type, cleaning method, subsequent rinsing and residue requirements. |
| Surface activation | Metal activation, etching, desmutting and zincating for aluminum; plastic parts have separate etching, neutralizing and activation steps. | Alloy or resin composition, surface condition, dimensional allowance and subsequent coating type. |
| Catalysis & transition | Evaluate catalytic activation and transition to subsequent film formation by substrate and electroless system. | Existing pretreatment flow, adhesion, impurity drag-in and bath compatibility. |
| Post-plating protection & sealing | Discuss anti-tarnish, protection and sealing by coating; some steps also require dewatering or specialty auxiliaries. | Coating type, corrosive media, conductivity or soldering requirements and acceptance method. |
| Stripping & rework | Choose the stripping direction separately for tin, silver, gold coatings or electrophoretic coatings. | Whether the substrate and underlying coatings can be preserved, dimensional allowance, waste solution and safety requirements. |
Continue by substrate and problem
- Metal & aluminum alloy pretreatment: degreasing, activation, etching, desmutting and zincating.
- Plastic surface metallization: etching, neutralizing, activation and transition to subsequent metal layers.
- Post-plating treatment & specialty auxiliaries: post-plating protection, polishing and production aids.
- Stripping & rework: removal of different coatings and paint films.
Information to give our engineers
Please describe the substrate, existing surface condition and contamination type, current cleaning or activation flow, target coating, line configuration, and residue and wastewater requirements. For stripping, please add the complete coating structure, substrate and dimensional tolerances.
This page describes agent categories. Bath make-up, replenishment, operating temperature, safety protection and applicable substrates are subject to the corresponding product’s TDS, SDS and sample verification.