What do you rinse the alodine off with?

I have been recently told not to use water for the final rinse after alodining because it has minerals in it that can cause spots in the primer....Any suggestions here..I would appreciate it
Jim King
Starting 7A emp soon

uh huh uhu

well i bet 99.9% of people do. this sound quite rediculous. i do however use well water. which could be better or worse depending on the well. i dont think it's an issue. no spots btw. make sure you dont let the alodine dry thats a boo boo. and it turns green if alowed to dry

Well Water

I used water from my well. No problems. I did find that if I had not cleaned the part properly befor treatment I would get spots.

Gary

skyyking56 said:

I have been recently told not to use water for the final rinse after alodining because it has minerals in it that can cause spots in the primer....Any suggestions here..I would appreciate it
Jim King
Starting 7A emp soon

Click to expand...

Jim,
The tech data sheet recommends distilled water. For most of us, that is rediculous suggestion. Remember, that these recommendations are aimed at industrial users who are doing this on an industrial scale. I have etched & Alodined my entire 8A project using only city tap water. It rinses off just fine. If you are using well water, it is possible you MIGHT have a problem.
Blue or Green spots mean that you have not prepped the surface (etched) correctly. I've never had any spots in my primer, although I suspose that it could happen.
Charlie Kuss

It places the lotion in the basket or it gets the hose!

Hose it down. I use city water through a regular garden hose. Then prime with Akzo. No spots yet!

Yes, don't let it dry. Keep brushing if you have to, to keep it wet.

vmirv8bldr said:

Hose it down. I use city water through a regular garden hose. Then prime with Akzo. No spots yet!

Click to expand...

Ditto. (another data point for the file)

Sorry, but must be said...

Guys, I wouldn't normally comment on something like this, and I don't mean to come across as a tree-hugger, offend anyone or cause a debate, but....

Advocating the disposal or rinsing of Alodine by garden hose, presumably down the driveway or in the yard, is a scary proposition in a public forum such as this. If that is not what you are saying, then please accept my apologies for making incorrect assumptions.

Alodine contains forms of Chromium that are considered extremely hazardous to your health, the water supply and the environment in general. While I understand that we use such small amounts in our construction process, the deliberate and improper disposal of any amount of a known carcinogen into the enviroment is IMHO irresponsible, and most likely illegal.

Here is what the US Navy Safety Center has to say about Alodine 1201...
"This material must never be rinsed from aluminum in a sink such as deep sink or bathroom sink or the waste (flushing) water to be disposed of down sewage or storm drains. Alodine 1201 contains some nasty chemicals called Chromium VI Oxide, Chromic Acid and Potassium Ferricyanide that if released into a water supply will completely contaminate that supply."

Ok, I have said enuf and I am stepping down off my soapbox now. Thanks for listening.

Respectfully,

EZ Alodine waste disposal

EAA1000 chapter has a short article on this subject.

Alternatively, collect the waste water and take it to a local plating shop. They can dispose of it for a nominal fee. Incidentally, they use a multi-stage chemical process to cause the Chromium to preciptate out of solution. They then dispose of the preciptated Chromium in an approved manner. One approved manner: Concrete mix.

Here's an EZ way:
http://www.eaa1000.av.org/technicl/corrosion/more.htm

Could someone more knowledgeble than me explain why you have to evaporate the alodine solution before mixing into concrete? You gotta hydrate the concrete anyway, so why not just use the rinse solution as it is in the concrete mix?

How much concrete do you need?

I'm no expert by any means, but I'm guessing there is some mixture ratio for concrete. X parts water + x parts concrete mix. Let the water evaporate off and you can use any amount of water, and end up with any amount of concrete you want.

If you don't wait, you could end up with a significant amount of concrete just to use up all the water.

If you are mixing a sizeable amount of concrete anyway, pouring a foundation or something, then I suppose you could probably mix it right away without evaporating first.

Thanks for all of the info!!!!!!!! I think........
Just kidding..
It seems like the more questions I ask, the more this thing gets complicated.
I'm on my third practice project and to the 7A EMP soon.
ben sayin that for 2 months now