[CSJohnson]

Hi All,

Has anyone else come across and considered Henkel's new Alodine EC2 ElectroCeramic Coating?

New builder, or maybe "garage cleaner" would be more appropriate as I'm more in the preparation rather than building stages of an RV-8.

I live in Tampa, Florida, and while inland from the Gulf and Tampa Bay, corrosion is a key consideration. There's a lot of information and opinions contained in these forums on the +/-'s of various approaches, such as weight, level of protection, resale value.

Interestingly I haven't seen any mention of Alodine EC2, which as a ceramic coating appears quite different from Alodine 1200 or Iridite 14-2 which are chromate conversion products. Doesn't have the environmental issues, though must be performed by a Licensed Process Center, of which AmericanTrim is presently the only one.

Having spoken with Henkel and AmericanTrim, it appears the key benefits are:

• Superior corrosion protection over primer or Alodine 1200
• More uniform coating than Alodine 1200
• More traditional gray color versus the goldish tone of Alodine 1200
• Environmentally friendly
• Weight savings over primer (though slightly more weight than Alodine 1200)

Key drawbacks are:

• Must be performed by AmericanTrim in northern Alabama (at this point in time)
• Untested as there's no experience from other RV/Exp builders
• Will not be available to do in your own shop as is Alodine 1200 and primer

I'm sure there are other +/-'s. These are just the ones that sprung to mind.

I didn't list cost as a plus or minus. I'm told it's similar in price to having the chromate conversion done professionally, but I don't know how that compares to doing either primer or Alodine 1200 yourself given that either requires equipment and supplies.

Far from being an expert in these matters and I'd be very interested in what others with more expertise think. And, I wanted to make sure the VAF community is aware of what may be another corrosion protection alternative.

Regards,

Chris

 

[terrye]

Alodine EC2

Interesting process. In one section they say it can replace traditional primer coatings, and in another they say it allows for improved adhesion by subsequent coatings.

The problem that I see for this process, since it is not a "do it yourself at home" type process, is that of too many batches going to the approved vendor. That is, the parts for the empennage, left wing, right wing, aft fuselage, etc.

In my case I am using Alodine 1201 with an epoxy primer. I am using this process on the internal surfaces and lap joints and every subassembly has to be disassembled and then the process added. Once the airplane is finished, I intend to do the prep, primer and topcoat paint to the exterior surfaces, although I have not yet decided on the products.

If you do the EC2 process to the parts after drilling/dimpling but before riveting, you could do the inside and outside of the skins, but the outside surface is now not protected from scratching, etc., during the riveting and assembling. Not to mention that it may be years before the external primer/topcoat is applied. So not sure if the external EC2 treated surface will still provide good adhesion for the primer/topcoat after handling and the passage of time.

 

[CSJohnson]

Good Point

Yes, I suppose a disadvantage is that you would have to treat the parts prior to assembly, and if you scratched it you don't have the ability to touch it up as you do with primer.

Chris