Cleaning Glass Castings: Alconox or Detonox?
Q. Q. We are having an issue plating aluminum on glass castings. It appears there is mold release left on the glass after the casting. The glass manufacturer recommended Alconox detergent. Is that what you would your recommend for cleaning the glass? Whatever we use, it probably needs to be a soak at a high temperature (>170°)? Is this procedure good or should we use an ultrasonic at the higher temperature?
Ultrasonic Cleaning of Glass Molds (Detergents vs. Alkali)
Q. We have heard that Alconox is recommended for glass mold cleaning. Other than release agent, can the product also remove oxidation from the mold surface? And finally, why is the concentration on the Alconox detergent only 1-3% when we typically use concentrations of 20-30% when cleaning molds with sodium or potassium hydroxide based chemicals?
A. Alconox® Powdered Precision Cleaner is what we tradtionally recommend for mold release cleaning applications, but many also find Detonox® Ultimate Precision Cleaner to be particularly effective.
When it comes to removing oxidation…
Industrial Ultrasonic Cleaning 101
Find answers to questions such as: What is ultrasonic tank cleaning? Which industries employ? What Alconox brands are ideal for ultrasonic tank cleaning?
Ensuring Accurate Formulation of Liquinox Detergent
Q. I am a validation manager and we use Liquinox in multiple pieces of equipment across our manufacturing site. While witnessing our cleaning, I noticed the dilution instructions are not being followed. Instead, operators are adding some squirts/pumps/pours from the bottle into a bucket with purified water. Does Liquinox have a range of effective concentration? Do you have auto-mix ideas or other dosing solutions for customers facing this issue of accurate formulation?
Ideal pH Range for Industrial Ultrasonic Cleaning with Liquinox
Q. What is the acceptable pH range of Liquinox for effective cleaning in an ultrasonic bath? Our solution hovers around 7 and I am concerned that’s not effective. Also, does the temperature of the ultrasonic cleaning solution affect the detergent pH?
A. A typical reading for Liquinox® Critical Cleaning Liquid Detergent at usage dilution is ~pH 8.5. A pH 7 reading on Liquinox detergent would indicate that a notable amount of fouling has occurred from use.
