Global paints and coatings manufacturer PPG (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA) recently announced that PPG RECC 3007 was the first non-chrome aerospace pretreatment coating to meet the qualifications for U.S. Military Specification MIL-C-81706, Type II, Class 3, Form IV, Method A. This U.S. Department of Defense specification is for chemical conversion coatings applied to aluminum.
Formulated without chrome, RECC 3007 can be sprayed onto bare aluminum alloy aircraft surfaces in order to protect against corrosion and provide surface adhesion for later primer application. In addition, this coating offers low electrical resistance, thereby allowing for some electrical continuity of aluminum surfaces, such as electrical connectors, avionics surfaces and boxes, and other aircraft materials and equipment, that cannot be painted. As a Class 3 conversion coating, it may also have corrosion resistance uses for non-aircraft applications, such as electronic circuit boards and other aluminum substrates and equipment.
PPG was motivated to create an aerospace coating formulated without chromates and other chromium compounds with the same level of anticorrosion performance as chromium-based solutions, said Randall Brady, PPG’s global segment manager for aerospace pretreatment solutions. According to Brady, specification qualification RECC 3007 earned makes it useful in U.S. military application and “also enables commercial and general aviation aircraft manufacturers, operators and subcontractors that purchase qualified coatings to order the product.”
Available in an aqueous solution and formulated without volatile organic compounds, the RECC 3007 pretreatment coating is available through PPG’s global network of aerospace application support centers.
Source: PPG Newsroom, www.news.ppg.com