Trial Purpose:
To evaluate the effectiveness of seven TCE alternatives at removing wax from aluminum alloys
Date Run:
07/26/2017Experiment Procedure:
Pre-weighed aluminum coupons were tested for each aqueous cleaner. Coupons were soiled with Lenox Lube Tube Wax (CAS:8002-74-2; 57-11-4; 5989-27-5) using a swab to cover the bottom third of the substrate and dirty weights were recorded. Chemistries were prepared with a five percent dilution except for Micro 90, which had a two percent dilution based on vendor recommendations. Coupons were immersed, three at a time, in a beaker filled with 200ml of the chosen cleaner at room temperature (68 F) and cleaned with ultrasonics for five minutes. Final weights and observations were recorded after cleaning.
Trial Results:
| Cleaner | Initial wt. | Final wt. | % Removed | Average % Removed |
| SC Aircraft & Metal Cleaner | 0.0714 | 0.0054 | 92.44 | 96.10 |
| 0.0715 | -0.0002 | 100.28 | ||
| 0.0840 | 0.0037 | 95.60 | ||
| Amberclean 527L | 0.0340 | 0.0139 | 59.12 | 49.89 |
| 0.0480 | 0.0161 | 66.46 | ||
| 0.1170 | 0.0888 | 24.10 | ||
| Surface Cleanse 930 | 0.0804 | 0.0033 | 95.90 | 96.11 |
| 0.1153 | 0.0037 | 96.79 | ||
| 0.0938 | 0.0041 | 95.63 | ||
| Micro 90 | 0.0367 | 0.0169 | 53.95 | 51.45 |
| 0.0250 | 0.0055 | 78.00 | ||
| 0.0451 | 0.0350 | 22.39 | ||
| Solution 2000 | 0.0212 | 0.0201 | 5.19 | 15.75 |
| 0.0286 | 0.0264 | 7.69 | ||
| 0.0582 | 0.0382 | 34.36 | ||
| Shopmaster | 0.0290 | 0.0115 | 60.34 | 65.64 |
| 0.0495 | 0.0182 | 63.23 | ||
| 0.0270 | 0.0072 | 73.33 | ||
| Crystal Simple Green | 0.0729 | 0.0427 | 41.43 | 39.32 |
| 0.0472 | 0.0291 | 38.35 | ||
| 0.0822 | 0.0508 | 38.20 |
The wax was harder to remove compared to the lubricant, and some of the coupons varied in final percent removal. This could be due to the movement and spacing of the coupons in the ultrasonic tank. Retesting of the cleaners that had a wider range in removal for each coupon showed similar results.
Success Rating:
Preliminary compatibility tests on substrate coupons encouraging for at least one cleaning chemistry. More in-depth laboratory testing necessary.Conclusion:
SC Aircraft & Metal Cleaner and Surface Cleanse 930 were both very effective at removing Lenox Lube Tube Wax from aluminum coupons. Other cleaners showed an improvement in removal when ultrasonics was introduced. Next step would be to increase the ultrasonics cleaning time.
