Change the surface. Keep the component underneath.
Surface finishing modifies the exterior of a manufactured component to improve corrosion resistance, wear behavior, appearance, cleanliness, friction, conductivity, adhesion, or other application requirements.
A finish should be selected around what the finished surface needs to
Environmental Protection
Coatings and conversion treatments can reduce exposure of the base material to moisture, chemicals, or corrosive environments.
Surface Durability
Harder or lower-friction surface systems can improve performance in sliding, abrasive, or repeated-contact applications.
Cosmetic Control
Color, gloss, texture, reflectivity, polish, and uniformity can affect the final visual requirement.
Surface Preparation
Cleaning, roughening, conversion treatment, or priming can prepare a surface for paint, adhesives, coatings, or bonding.
Electrical Properties
Selected finishes can influence conductivity, contact behavior, shielding, solderability, or electrical isolation.
Surface Condition
Cleaning and finishing can remove scale, oils, burrs, oxidation, contamination, or manufacturing residue.
A deposited metal layer can provide corrosion protection, conductivity, wear properties, solderability, or appearance.
Electrochemical treatment modifies the oxide layer on aluminum and can provide corrosion resistance, wear resistance, color, or appearance control.
Dry coating material is applied and cured to create a durable decorative or protective finish.
Liquid coating systems can provide color, protection, identification, and environmental resistance.
Abrasive media can clean, texture, prepare, or modify a surface before additional finishing.
Grinding, brushing, buffing, tumbling, or polishing can change roughness, appearance, edge condition, and surface texture.
Oil, scale, oxidation, machining residue, weld contamination, fingerprints, previous coatings, and inconsistent roughness can interfere with adhesion and final finish quality.
Process
Specify coating, plating, anodizing, polishing, blasting, painting, or another required treatment.
Thickness
Deposited coatings can change finished dimensions and may need controlled thickness ranges.
Color & Appearance
Define cosmetic standards, gloss, texture, acceptable variation, and reference samples where needed.
Masking
Identify surfaces that must remain uncoated, conductive, dimensionally controlled, or suitable for sealing.
Performance
Define corrosion, wear, adhesion, environmental, electrical, or other functional expectations.
Inspection
Specify appearance checks, thickness measurement, adhesion testing, documentation, or other acceptance methods.
Heat treatment uses controlled thermal cycles to change hardness, strength, ductility, stress condition, or other material characteristics.
Explore Heat Treatment →