Ceramic coatings for aluminum

I am looking for a ceramic coating for Aluminum Die cast parts or parts machined out of 2011 grade Al.

My application is the platen for Pathological Microscopes where the specimen smear mounted on a glass plate moves over an Aluminum flat surface. Over a period of time, the surface gets scratched or the paint wears off all together. Companies like Zeiss and Olympus are now promoting their instruments as "ceramic coated stage plates".

My manufacturing plant is in India and I am not able to find any consultant or job-shop for this process. What I am currently using is a two part Sherwin Williams epoxy paint which has a life no more than a year.

I'm not familiar with that device, but the easiest reliable way to put a ceramic coating on aluminum is to anodize it. Ask a local shop to "hardcoat anodize" a sample for you and see if this is what you are looking for.

Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey

Advertising is frequently designed to be impressive as well as misleading to competitors. European companies were leaders in this department and have decades of doing it to protect their trade secrets and business. A lab analysis of such a product will unveil the mystery to the trained eye.

Neeraj,
There is a ceramic material called "Green Tape". This is a soft "uncured" ceramic stock (usually sheet) that can be cut, bent, and shaped and applied to substrates like metals. It is then cured to the hard, ceramic state and will produce a glass/metal bond. A starting point is to try the Kerafol website (in Denmark I believe). The products are marketed by the name of "Keraflex".

Interesting technology, Fred, thanks. Are you also suggesting that this is what Neeraj's competitors are using, or just offering it as an alternative to anodizing?

Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey

Dear Neeraj

It is possible to do ceramic coating on Aluminum.
If I were you, I would open Thomas Register of India.