Make coated aluminum casting quotes comparable by defining the B117-26 test item, coating condition, exposure, acceptance zones, sampling, records, and rework authority instead of writing only a standard number.
ASTM B117-26 defines how to operate a salt spray chamber; it does not choose the specimen, exposure hours, or pass/fail interpretation for a coated aluminum casting. A quoteable RFQ must therefore name the coating system and final condition, test item, scribe and edge rules if any, exposure duration, inspection intervals, acceptance zones, failure criteria, sampling, record format, and authority for retest or rework.
Use the test as controlled comparative evidence under the buyer's product specification, not as a stand-alone prediction of outdoor life. Bohua publicly lists a YWX-750 salt spray testing chamber, but that equipment does not create a universal project requirement. The drawing, coating specification, purchase documents, and agreed control plan remain authoritative.
The schedule below is intentionally buyer-fillable. It prevents one supplier from pricing only chamber exposure while another includes coating, fixtures, photos, evaluation, lot traceability, and deviation handling.
Treat ASTM B117-26 as the chamber practice, not the product specification
ASTM B117-26 controls the apparatus, procedure, and conditions used to create the salt-spray environment. The ASTM scope does not assign your production specimen, exposure period, or interpretation of results. Put those product decisions in the drawing, coating specification, purchase document, or an attached RFQ schedule. A quote that says only ASTM B117 leaves suppliers free to price different scopes.
Choose the production part, coated panel, or witness coupon explicitly
State whether the quotation covers a finished production casting, a section cut from a part, a coated panel, a witness coupon processed with the lot, or more than one item. Identify the part number, drawing revision, coating specification, lot relationship, quantity, orientation, and whether the specimen is sacrificial. Do not assume a panel result automatically represents edges, recesses, pores, machining transitions, or masked features on a casting.
Lock the coating system and delivered test condition
Name the substrate alloy and temper, casting process if relevant, surface-preparation route, pretreatment, coating family, color or grade, thickness requirement if buyer-controlled, cure state, and any post-machining or assembly operation before exposure. Mark bare machined faces, threaded holes, seal lands, electrical contact areas, and temporary protective treatments separately. The test condition must match the delivered condition that the buyer intends to approve.
Define preparation, scribe, edges, masks, and racks
Write whether specimens are scribed or unscribed and identify the scribe geometry and location when the product specification requires one. State how cut edges, casting edges, machined transitions, threads, plugs, masks, and rack or contact marks are treated during exposure and evaluation. If a surface is excluded from acceptance, show it on a controlled zone map instead of relying on a verbal exception.
Set exposure duration, inspections, and interruption rules
The buyer must provide the required exposure hours or cite the controlling product or coating specification that provides them. Also state permitted inspection intervals, whether the chamber may be opened for intermediate review, how interruptions are recorded, and whether specimens return to exposure after inspection. Suppliers should quote the exact duration and handling sequence rather than substitute a house-default cycle.
Write the evaluation zone and failure criteria
Define what is evaluated, where it is evaluated, when it is evaluated, and which document supplies the rating method. Buyer-fillable criteria may cover visible base-metal corrosion, corrosion from a scribe, blistering, peeling, adhesion change, coating loss, or another project-defined condition. State excluded edges and rack marks, the measurement boundary, required cleaning before evaluation, and who has final disposition authority. This article does not invent universal limits.
Link samples, lots, photos, and reports
Assign the test item to a coating batch, casting lot, heat or serial reference as required by the program. Define first-article and production sampling separately. Request the method revision, specimen identification, coating and preparation details, start and stop times, interruption log, chamber result, dated photographs, evaluator, measured or rated findings, and pass/fail decision in the report. State record-retention and reissue requirements.
Separate chamber results from field-life claims
ASTM cautions that salt-spray exposure used alone does not reliably predict natural-environment performance. Use the result for the purpose defined by the controlling specification, such as process consistency or coating-quality comparison under controlled conditions. Do not convert a chamber-hour result into an unsupported service-life promise. If field performance matters, the buyer's engineering plan must define any additional environmental, cyclic, assembly, fluid, or real-world validation.
Normalize finishing, testing, rework, and quote exclusions
Ask suppliers to separate or clearly include casting, machining, cleaning, pretreatment, coating, masking, witness items, fixtures, salt-spray exposure, intermediate inspections, final evaluation, photographs, reports, packaging, and outside-process coordination. Define whether coating rework, touch-up, retest, or specimen replacement is allowed, who approves it, and what evidence follows. Comparable quote lines prevent a low chamber-only price from being compared with a complete tested-and-documented delivery.
Use Bohua's matching quality and product paths
Relevant Bohua paths are Quality Control at /quality-control, the Aluminum Casting Surface Finishing Guide at /blog/aluminum-casting-surface-finishing-guide, the Hydraulic Valve Body Coating Masking RFQ at /en/resources/hydraulic-valve-body-coating-masking-rfq/, and the hydraulic-valve casting example at /products/hydraulic-valve-1. Bohua publicly identifies a YWX-750 salt spray testing chamber. The exact method, specimen, hours, sampling, acceptance, evidence, and any coordinated outside work remain drawing- and project-defined. The page template provides the single RFQ action for submitting that controlled package.
Specifications
| Method and revision | ASTM B117-26 or buyer-entered controlling method: ____ |
|---|---|
| Coating and final state | Alloy/temper: ____; preparation: ____; pretreatment: ____; finish/grade/color: ____; thickness if controlled: ____ |
| Test item | Production part / cut section / panel / witness coupon: ____; part and drawing revision: ____ |
| Lot relationship | Casting lot: ____; coating batch: ____; sample quantity and selection: ____ |
| Preparation before exposure | Conditioning or cure interval: ____; cleaning: ____; handling restrictions: ____ |
| Scribe, edges, and masks | Scribed/unscribed: ____; scribe location: ____; cut-edge and rack-mark treatment: ____; excluded zones: ____ |
| Exposure | Required hours: ____; inspection intervals: ____; opening and interruption rule: ____ |
| Evaluation zone | General surface: ____; scribe boundary: ____; edges, recesses, machined faces, and masked areas: ____ |
| Acceptance | Rating method: ____; permitted corrosion/blistering/peeling/adhesion change or other criteria: ____ |
| Sampling frequency | First article: ____; production lot: ____; change-triggered retest: ____ |
| Report package | Specimen IDs, method revision, times, interruption log, photos, evaluator, findings, disposition, retention: ____ |
| Deviation and commercial scope | Rework/retest authority: ____; quoted inclusions: ____; exclusions and outside-process coordination: ____ |
FAQ
Does ASTM B117-26 specify how many hours a coated aluminum casting must pass?
No. ASTM B117-26 defines operation of the salt-spray environment but does not prescribe the product-specific exposure period or interpretation. The buyer must provide those requirements or cite the controlling product or coating specification.
Can a salt-spray result be converted directly into years of outdoor service life?
Not from B117 exposure alone. ASTM cautions against stand-alone correlation to natural environments. Use the result only for the purpose and acceptance framework defined by the buyer's engineering and product specifications.
Should the RFQ call for a production casting or a coated test panel?
Choose explicitly. A panel may support process-control evidence, while a production casting includes real edges, pores, recesses, machined transitions, masks, and contact points. The buyer must decide which item represents the approval risk.
What information is needed to compare salt-spray quotations?
At minimum provide the method revision, coating and final condition, test item, preparation and scribe rules, hours, inspections, evaluation zones, acceptance criteria, sample quantity, lot link, report package, and rework or retest authority.
Does Bohua have salt-spray testing equipment?
Bohua's public quality-control page identifies a YWX-750 salt spray testing chamber. The exact method, duration, specimen, sampling, acceptance criteria, records, and any outside-process coordination must still be agreed for the drawing and project.