To improve the appearance, texture, functionality, and other aspects of metal surface products, it is generally necessary to treat the metal surface. Surface treatment refers to forming a surface layer with specific properties on the material surface through physical or chemical methods.

1. Anodizing

Using electrochemical principles, an aluminum oxide film is formed on the surface of aluminum and aluminum alloys. This oxide film primarily provides protection, decoration, insulation, and wear resistance. Different processes are used for single-color, gradient-color, and two-color anodizing. Key considerations for improving the anodizing yield mainly include the amount of oxidizing agent, suitable temperature, and current density.

2. Electrophoresis

In addition to maintaining the luster of the metal surface, electrophoresis can also enhance surface performance and provide high corrosion resistance. It is used to achieve various colors on the surfaces of materials such as stainless steel and aluminum alloys. The electrophoresis process is relatively simple and mainly consists of three steps: pretreatment, electrophoresis, and drying.

3. Micro-arc Oxidation

This is a process that uses an electrolyte solution and high-voltage electricity to generate a ceramicized surface film. Due to its high power consumption, the micro-arc oxidation process has the highest cost, and it can only produce two colors: black and gray.

4. PVD Vacuum Plating

PVD can produce high-hardness, highly wear-resistant decorative cermet coatings on metal surfaces. The PVD vacuum plating process uses a physical vapor deposition technique to deposit thin films.

5. Electroplating

Electroplating can provide products with a glossy coating and a high-quality metallic appearance. The electroplating process uses electrolysis to attach a metal film to the metal surface, thereby providing corrosion protection and improving wear resistance, electrical conductivity, reflectivity, appearance, and other properties.

6. Powder Coating

Powder coating is commonly used for the appearance treatment of architectural furniture products and heat sinks. The powder coating process consists of five steps: loading, electrostatic dust removal, spraying, low-temperature leveling, and baking. Powder coating equipment sprays the powder coating onto the workpiece surface, where it is adsorbed under the effect of static electricity to form a powder coating. The coating is then baked at high temperature to produce different effects.

7. Metal Brushing

Brushing treatment gives the metal surface a non-mirror metallic luster and can also eliminate minor defects. It mainly uses grinding to form linear textures on the workpiece surface, creating a decorative effect.

8. Polishing

To improve the dimensional accuracy and geometrical precision of workpieces, polishing can make the product surface smooth and achieve a mirror-like luster. This process uses flexible polishing tools, abrasive particles, and other polishing media to finish the surface.

9. Etching

After plate-making exposure and development, the protective film in the areas to be etched is removed. During etching, the metal is exposed to a chemical solution, and two positive patterns are used to dissolve and corrode the metal through chemical milling from both sides, forming a concave-convex or hollow structure. There are two process methods: exposure and screen printing.