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components ready for thin dense chrome plating after citric passivation

stainless steel passivation

Natural Corrosion Solutions

Combining superior innovation with environmental consciousness

passivation

Put Metal Corrosion in the Past

Nitric acid was once seen as the only passivation method to prevent stainless steel corrosion. Though naturally corrosion-resistant, harmful contaminants can still breach the surface of stainless steel and wear away its passive layer.
Dedicated to remaining on the cutting-edge of metal corrosion prevention, The Armoloy Corporation utilizes a more effective passivation method that's both natural and eco-friendly. Known as citric passivation, we use this non-electrolytic finishing process to help industry manufactures worldwide enhance corrosion resistance.

Armoloy Citric Passivation Highlights

  • Natural process using citric passivation
  • Environmentally friendly
  • Restores natural chromium oxide layer
  • Maximizes the corrosion resistance for most stainless steels (including all 300/400 series SS)
  • Removes free iron particles

Proven applications

Utilizing citric passivation can improve the long-term performance of applications in all the following industries.

  • Food & Beverage
  • Medical
  • Aerospace
  • Semiconductor
  • Military

Certifications

  • AMS 2700
  • ASTM A380
  • ASTM A967

The Science Behind Citric Passivation

While high chrome content makes stainless steel naturally corrosion-resistant, it does not prevent harmful contaminants from breaching its surface. As a non-electrolytic finishing process, citric acid passivation removes free iron particles and other surface contaminants from the material’s surface resulting from manufacturing processes, creating a passive oxide layer that maximizes corrosion resistance.

Not only highly effective, citric passivation offers the versatility to provide this same effect for nearly all stainless and high chromium steels. But what makes citric passivation a superior alternative to nitric passivation lies in its process. The citric acid used during passivation is not only much safer, but is also organic, non-hazardous, and ensures no toxic fume emissions.

Because of its environmental benefits and effectiveness compared to nitric passivation—confirmed through multiple studies—industry manufacturers around the world turn to Armoloy for our citric passivation capabilities. Our team offers the capability of providing innovative solutions customized to the requirements of both your application and industry.

Additional Metal Treatments

Explore All Products
Passivation
nut and bolt
nitric passivation
Nitric Passivation
Nitric Passivation
Nitric acid passivation is an effective method for increasing the longevity of stainless steel materials.
TDC
nut and bolt
nodular thin dense chrome on surface seen at x500
Nodular Thin Dense Chrome
Nodular Thin Dense Chrome
Our thin dense chrome plating reduces the wear, friction and corrosion of components with a nodular finish.
TDC
nut and bolt
Armoloy Electrolizing microcracked thin dense chrome on surface at 500 magnification
Microcracked Thin Dense Chrome
Microcracked Thin Dense Chrome
Microcracked thin dense chrome plating offers a proprietary chemistry of pure chromium that increases both hardness and wear resistance.
TDC
nut and bolt
diamond chrome plating armoloy xadc at x500
Diamond Chrome Plating
Diamond Chrome Plating
For applications with particularly high wear rates, Diamond Chrome Plating XADC provides an exceptional option to alternative metal surface treatments.
TDC
nut and bolt
armoloy biprotec nickel chrome plating on surface x500
Hybrid Coatings (Bi-Protec)
Hybrid Coatings (Bi-Protec)
Bi-Protec Nickel Chrome Plating—a combination of our high phosphorus electroless nickel coating with an overlay of Armoloy TDC® or XADC®. Bi-Protec's additional layer provides the best combination of wear and corrosion protection.
TDC
nut and bolt
electrolizing microcracked thin dense chrome and medical coating me-92
ME-92 Biocompatible Chromium
ME-92 Biocompatible Chromium
Biocompatible chromium medical coating, known as ME-92, brings high-precision medical industry solutions throughout the world.
TDC
nut and bolt
plating aluminum with alcoat at x500
Microcracked Thin Dense Chrome For Aluminum
Microcracked Thin Dense Chrome For Aluminum
AL-COAT ensures premium protection for aluminum alloys by providing a high-chromium coating that is also both dense and non-magnetic.
Nickel
nut and bolt
electroless nickel coating from armoloy on metal surface at x500
Mid-phos Electroless Nickel Coating
Mid-phos Electroless Nickel Coating
For intricate applications susceptible to corrosion, our mid-phosphorus Electroless Nickel coating offers precise, uniform coverage for long-lasting preservation.
Nickel
nut and bolt
electroless nickel coating and nickel plating at x2000
High-phos Electroless Nickel Plating
High-phos Electroless Nickel Plating
Armoloy's High Phosphorus Electroless Nickel plating offers great corrosion resistance for components operating in acidic environments.
Nickel
nut and bolt
nickel teflon® on surface at x500
Nickel Teflon – Nyflon
Nickel Teflon – Nyflon
A co-deposit of electroless nickel and PTFE (Teflon®), Nyflon is the gold-standard for applications requiring increased corrosion resistance, hardness, and lubrication.
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Services at Armoloy

The Armoloy Corporation is here to provide support for your project, starting from the discovery phase and continuing through a successful production launch. Whether coatings are considered during the initial part design phase or become necessary due to product failures in the field, our team can assist you at any stage in the process.

armoloy corporate lab testing plating solution
Research & Development
Fully equipped R&D plating lab for test runs, prototyping, and continual development of our plating technologies. Our turnkey approach ensures high-quality outcomes for your project.
Process Development & Validation
Support from design to product launch with coating selection, prototyping, testing, PPAP validation, and plating production on any scale. We also support a range of ASTM and AMS test methods with a NADCAP-certified laboratory. 
Fulfillment
Armoloy ensures the development of a robust plating process that can be distributed to one of our 16 plating facilities. We’ll handle prototyping, process validation, and much more.

How Metals Fail

Contact Armoloy

Some of the most common metal failures include:

Armoloy’s different metal coating solutions help industries avoid costly metal failures and unplanned downtime.

Galvanic corrosion of metal washer
Galvanic Corrosion
abrasive wear and abrasive metal failure of metal bearing
Abrasive Wear
rolling contact fatigue
Rolling Contact Fatigue
erosion corrosion and erosive wear metal failure of piping due to lack of nickel chrome plating
Erosion-Corrosion
pitting corrosion on metal surface without nickel plating
Pitting Corrosion
uniform corrosion of metal surface due to lack of nickel chrome plating
Uniform Corrosion
rolling contact fatigue caused by bearing friction if we don't reduce friction
Friction
severe fretting wear
Fretting Wear
stress corrosion cracking of exterior metal pipe
Stress Corrosion Cracking

Partner With Us

Eliminate metal wear and friction from your operations. Meet our group of curious, innovative engineers and learn how we can help improve your industry with science-based solutions.

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