Protective coating system for aluminum
AssigneeThe United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy
InventorJames M. Quartarone
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Aluminum articles are provided with enhanced surface protection by initially abrading the surface to produce a surface microroughness of 400-700 microinches (RMS), and hard anodizing the roughened surface to a depth of at least 0.0020 inch. The anodized surface is then coated with a protective material to a thickness of 0.0005-0.015 inch. The protective coating materials may be fusible polymers which are fused on the surface or fluid organic coating compositions which are dried on the surface.
Claims10
In a method for providing a protective coating on aluminum articles, the steps comprising:
- (a) abrading the surface of an aluminum article to produce a surface microroughness of 400-700 microinches (RMS);
- (b) hard anodizing the roughened surface to a depth of 0.0020-0.0045 inch to provide a surface with a retained surface microroughness of at least 300 microinches (RMS);
- and
- (c) coating the anodized surface with a protective material to a thickness of 0.0015-0.015 inch.
In a method for producing a protective coating on aluminum articles, the steps comprising:
- (a) roughening the surface of an aluminum article by abrasion with aluminum oxide particles to produce a surface microroughness of 400-700 microinches (RMS);
- (b) hard anodizing the roughened surface to a depth of 0.0020-0.0045 inch by immersing said article in an electrolytic bath and exposing it to an electric current, said anodized surface retaining a microroughness of at least 300 microinches (RMS);
- and
- (c) coating the anodized surface with a protective polymeric material by depositing particles of a polymer thereon and fusing said particles to produce a coating having a thickness of 0.0015-0.015 inch.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.