Proper Surface Preparation for Metals

Achieve optimal bond strength with proper surface preparation of your metal. We’ll demonstrate how in this captivating video.

Video Transcript

Thank you for joining us. Today we are going to demonstrate how proper preparation of a metal surface can ultimately determine how effective the bond strength of your application will be. Let's start by applying a drop of water to this metal strip and see what happens.

The drop of water is beading, which means that the surface is not properly prepared and may contain a contaminant like paint, lubricating oil, or grease.

Next, let's roughen the metal strip with a piece of sandpaper. Then, we'll degrease the surface with acetone. Again, we will apply a drop of water to see what happens.

Now the water is spreading, which means that the surface has been prepared and the adhesive is ready to be applied.

There are three major methods for removing surface contaminants--degreasing, chemical cleaning and abrasion. For the best results, using a combination of these techniques may be recommended.

Here is a bonded joint that was not properly roughened and contaminated before bonding. You can see that the adhesion is not good. Here is a piece that was properly roughened and cleaned before bonding with a two part room temperature curing adhesive. Clearly, it's much stronger. In many applications, proper surface preparation is essential to optimize bond strength for long term performance and durability. Thanks for watching. Please contact our technical advisors for more information.

Disclaimer: When using recommended chemicals follow appropriate federal, state and local regulations for safe handling and disposal. Appropriate care is required when carrying out necessary surface preparation procedures.