Inhibiting Agents General Information Inhibiting agents are commonly added to alkaline cleaners to minimize the effect cleaners have on metal substrates. Inhibitors may also be used to prevent oxidation (rusting). The addition of inhibitors to a cleaner can make it more difficult to rinse the cleaner from the part being cleaned. Inhibitors may deposit a film on a part as soon as the soil has been removed or displaced. This film can interfere with future steps in processing such as plating and conversion coatings. Rust inhibitors may be used to prevent rusting of cleaned parts. They may also be used to prevent rust in cleaning equipment that is not made of stainless steel. Inhibitors are commonly added to high-pH cleaners to reduce their effect on nonferrous materials. Ferrous metals, magnesium, and titanium alloys are not usually attacked by the highly alkaline cleaners; thus, the use of an inhibitor may not be required with these materials. Low-pH or neutral cleaners do not usually require inhibitors. Inhibitors may be used in the wash stage of a single-stage cleaning process. They may also be used in the rinse stage of a multiple step process. Inhibitors may be used in all types of immersion spray machines. State Information | Glossary | Conversion Checklist | Comments Home | Process Advisor | Alternatives | Links | Search All SAGE material, Copyright© 1992, Research Triangle Institute Last Update: 15 March 1995 sage@rti.org http://clean.rti.org/alt.cfm?id=in&cat=gi