Letter 33051

Does Alodine get washed off by Sparkleen cleanser?  

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We manufacture electronic components for the military. During the manufacturing of a circuit card assembly (CCA) a metal bracket is formed and then treated with Alodine by the metal shop who fabricated the part. Once the bracket is assembled to the CCA the CCA must be cleaned before soldering to remove and foreign objects. The product we use to clean the CCA is Sparkleen. Sparkleen is a composite made from Sodium carbonate anhydrous, Ethylene oxide nonylphenol polymer, and Sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate. The Sparkleen is a powder that is mixed with water. It appears that the Sparkleen is removing the Alodine from the aluminum. The gold coating is no longer visible. Is this possible since Alodine is a chemical etching into the aluminum? Is it possible to test for the presence of Alodine?

Charles Sakelakos
- Jacksonville, Fl, USA

Your cleaner appears to have a high enough pH to damage/remove the alodine. If the gold color is gone, you have at a minimum seriously degraded the corrosion resistance of the alodine coating.

James Watts
- Navarre, Florida

Yes, a cleaner containing sod carbonate can remove alodine. If there is no color left, there is no alodine left.

Jeffrey Holmes, CEF - Spartanburg, SC, USA

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