Surface pre-treatment prior to underwater bonding.
The invention relates to a method of forming a metal- resin bond in the presence of environmental contamination of the metal surface by, for example, adsorbed water. The method consists of cleaning the metal surface and then coating it with a pre-treatment material adapted to displace the adsorbed contaminant and to be displaced in turn by the applied resin. The method is particularly relevant to the formation of steel/epoxy resin bonds underwater for the repair of submerged structures. The pre-treatment material may consist of a hydrocarbon solvent containing in solution a surfactant such as an ionic surfactant together with a viscous hydrocarbon such as petroleum jelly.