Surface pre-treatment method for pre-coated heat-treatable, precipitation-hardenable stainless steel ferrous-alloy components and components coated thereby
AssigneeThe Boeing Company
InventorsSteven G. Keener, Michael A. Mendoza
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The present invention relates to the use, in a pre-coating process, of a flash plating, without a subsequent chromate seal, as a surface pre-treatment for a ferrous-alloy substrate prior to applying a corrosion-inhibiting coating to improve the overall corrosion protection of the pre-treatment component. Preferably the ferrous alloy is a heat-treatable, precipitation-hardenable stainless steel and the pre-treatement is a cadmium flash plate or a zinc-nickel alloy flash plate.
Claims50
A method for coating a ferrous-alloy aircraft structural component comprising the steps of:
- providing an aircraft structural component made from a ferrous-alloy precursor having a pre-determined treatment temperature;
- providing a flash plate pre-treatment;
- subjecting the component to the flash plate pre-treatment;
- providing a curable organic coating material having a non-volatile portion that is curable at about the pre-determined ferrous-alloy heat-treatment temperature;
- applying the coating material to the component;
- and
- substantially simultaneously curing the coating and the component by heat-treating the ferrous-alloy precursor to a pre-determined heat-treatment temperature.
A method for improving the corrosion protection of a ferrous-alloy substrate comprising the steps of:
- providing a ferrous-alloy substrate;
- applying to the ferrous-alloy substrate a flash plate pre-treatment without a subsequent chromate seal treatment;
- and
- applying a curable organic coating material having a non-volatile portion that is curable at about a pre-determined heat-treatment temperature of the ferrous alloy.
A corrosion resistant aircraft structural ferrous-alloy component prepared according to a method comprising the steps of:
- providing an aircraft structural component made from a ferrous-alloy precursor having a pre-determined heat-treatment temperature;
- providing a flash plate pre-treatment without a subsequent chromate seal;
- subjecting the component to the flash plate pre-treatment;
- providing a curable organic coating material having a non-volatile portion that is curable at about the pre-determined ferrous-alloy heat-treatment temperature;
- applying the organic coating material to the component to form a coated component;
- and
- curing the coated component to a pre-determined temperature.
A ferrous-alloy aircraft structural component comprising:
- a ferrous-alloy precursor having a pre-determined heat-treatment temperature;
- a flash plate pre-treatment without a subsequent chromate seal;
- and
- a curable, organic coating made from a material having a non-volatile portion that is curable at about the pre-determined ferrous-alloy heat-treatment temperature, wherein the precursor and the coating are substantially simultaneously heat-treated.
An aircraft comprising a ferrous-alloy aircraft structural component comprising:
- a ferrous-alloy precursor having a pre-determined heat-treatment temperature, said precursor pre-treated with a flash plate pre-treatment deposited to a thickness of from about 0.0002 inch to about 0.0004 inch without a subsequent chromate sealant;
- and
- a curable, organic coating made from a material having a non-volatile portion that is curable at about the pre-determined ferrous-alloy heat-treatment temperature, wherein the precursor and the coating are substantially simultaneously heat-treated.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.