How do I choose the best aluminium surface treatment or coating?

Read more about how you can perform beyond the surface

Key takeaways

Why choose aluminium?
The advantages of surface treatments and coatings
Sorts of surface treatments at Mifa
How to choose the right surface treatment
More information about surface treatments

Surface treatment is far more than a finishing step. It delivers the performance your applications demand. Protection, functionality, durability and aesthetics – engineered to perfection.

But how do you know exactly which surface treatments is right for your product? We will tell you how.

Why choose aluminium, and what to consider?

Aluminium is a highly versatile material, which is why engineers frequently select it for a wide range of applications. Its popularity is due to several advantages, including:

Lightweight
High strength
Durability
Good thermal and electrical conductivity

Despite these benefits, it is important to recognise that aluminium is sensitive to external factors, such as corrosion. For this reason, it is essential to carefully evaluate the intended application of the aluminium profile in advance and ensure that an appropriate protective layer is applied.

The advantages of surface treatments and coatings

An aluminium surface treatment is the process of treating the surface of aluminium to enhance the properties such as:

Optimal protection against corrosion
Achieving the desired reflectivity
Enhanced wear resistance
Improved surface texture and roughness
Applying colour or electrical insulation
Improved adhesion for gluing or painting

Advantages of aluminium	Added value surface treatments
Lightweight and strong	Strength maintained and additional wear resistance
Corrosion resistant	Protection can be further enhanced by the right coating
Electrical conductivity	Special coatings can regulate conductivity even better

Surface treatments at Mifa

Mifa is a specialist in aluminium and magnesium extrusion profiles with precision tolerances starting from ± 0.02 mm. Combined with the surface treatments – we offer in-house – the possibilities are vitually limitless.

The advantages of surface treatments at Mifa

Consistent quality
We can guarantee the highest quality in this regard because we are able to perform selective laser removal (local de-coating) and consistently maintain the same formula, and therefore also colour.
Large and small batches
We can treat aluminium profiles with treatments and/or coatings in both high and low volumes – all with consistent quality. Our current bath line is 3.6 metres long. With the introduction of the new bath line for surface treatments, we will have baths with greater depth, allowing us to treat larger volumes in a single batch.
Treatments/coatings for every profile
We can treat aluminium profiles that have been extruded in-house, but also your own aluminium extruded profiles.

We offer the following kind of treatments:

Aluminium anodising

Passivation

Polymer coatings

Custom coatings

Overview all treatments

How to choose the right surface treatment

The right surface treatment is selected based on specifications and requirements. In addition, we advise on coatings per type of application to achieve the best result. Each coating differs in terms of:

Coating thickness
Corrosion protection
Hardness
Wear resistance
And more

Since specifications may vary, we are happy to advise you based on your specific needs.

Contact our experts for tailored advice on your requirements via the Surface Selector.

Try our Surface selector

More information about surface treatments

Surface treatments