Water Immersion and Corrosion Protection: Testing to Ensure Long-Term Durability

Reid Metal Finishing employs several different testing methods to examine how the parts we treat will handle certain environments and ensure the quality of our metal finishes. One of the most common tests that we use for parts that will end up in damp or highly corrosive environments is water immersion. This is a test required for corrosion resistant steels and any parts that have been passivated, in order to get an idea of how they’ll perform in a real world setting.

What is water immersion?

Water immersion is more than just putting a part into water and seeing what happens. It involves a standardized process, usually to ASTM regulations, where the part to be tested is partially or fully submerged in a water bath, which is either distilled or demineralized, at a specific temperature and for a measured amount of time. The objective of this test is to determine the metal part’s resistance or susceptibility to corrosion after treatment has completed. It’s always used after passivation, and has applications for other types of treatments as well.

Why is water immersion testing important?

Many of the parts that Reid treats often go on to applications that involve corrosive, damp, or otherwise damaging environments that can impact the performance of the parts. Water immersion tests can replicate the conditions that the parts will likely encounter, and allow us to examine how our coatings react to those conditions. We can see how long the part endures, examine the changes of a partially-submerged component, and even find surface flaws where the treatment may not have been as effective, such as on an unusual feature of the part.

Looking for an expert provider of metal finishing services?

Reid Metal Finishing is a premier plating and anodizing company that specializes in providing high-performance surface treatments for many different types of metal components. If you’re interested in any of our services, then head over to our website to request a quote or learn more about what types of metal finishes that we have to offer!