Question:
I am looking for the proper cleaner to use to prepare some small parts for bonding. We are attempting to use silicone to seal 303 stainless steel pins into black polycarbonate housing.
The 303 stainless steel pins appear clean but the silicone adhesive Dow Corning 3-8264 does not consistently adhere to the pins.
Is Alcojet the correct cleaner to remove the machining oils from the pins and leave the surface residue free for bonding?
Answer:
Thanks for your question about cleaning stainless steel pins prior to bonding with silicone adhesive. I recommend you use:
- 1% (1.25 oz/gal) Alconox solution
- at (120-130 deg F or hotter)
Use the Alconox solution for manual and ultrasonic cleaning of the stainless steel pins followed by a thorough rinse, preferably a running water rinse. Ideally rinse with distilled or deionized water, or do a running water rinse with tap water followed by a final dip rinse in distilled or deionized water. Ideally dry by a water-removing rather than water-evaporating technique such as blowing off the pins with forced air.
Alcojet is not the ideal detergent to choose for manual and ultrasonic cleaning. Alcojet is intended to be used in automated spray machine washers.
For an Alconox MSDS and technical bulletin, see: http://www.alconox.com/static/msds/msds_alconox.asp
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For a free sample, visit: http://www.alconox.com/sample15.html
