Salt spray test

In industrial environments, exposure to moisture, saline atmospheres and pollutants can rapidly degrade metallic materials, coatings and assemblies. A salt spray test assesses the corrosion resistance of your components, compares several surface protection systems and identifies weaknesses before market launch. This approach is particularly useful for qualifying a treatment, securing a process change, investigating a non-conformity or documenting customer specifications. To complement this approach, also explore our dedicated page on the salt spray test.

Requests often involve metal components that have corroded prematurely, differences between suppliers, doubts about the performance of a deposit or paint, or the need to demonstrate corrosion resistance to a contracting authority. The automotive, energy, rail, aerospace, capital goods and industrial subcontracting sectors are particularly concerned. The challenge is to have a reproducible, interpretable test aligned with the product's actual use.

The result of a salt spray test is not limited to an exposure time. The analysis considers the appearance of white or red corrosion, visible changes to the surfaces, location of the attacks, condition of cut or assembled areas and consistency with the specifications. This assessment supports decision-making: validate, compare, adjust a process or launch a further investigation.

Choosing the Filab laboratory means benefiting from a technical partner capable of connecting the salt spray test to your development, production and quality challenges. Our added value lies in our understanding of materials and surface treatments, the rigor applied to test preparation and our ability to propose additional investigations when results are critical or unexpected.

The Filab laboratory supports industrial companies in implementing salt spray tests tailored to their performance, compliance and durability requirements. Our teams work with you to define the relevant test conditions, number of specimens, acceptance criteria and expected observations. We assist with product qualification, comparison of anticorrosion solutions and expert investigations in the event of failure. Depending on your needs, the test can be integrated into a broader approach involving material characterization, surface analysis or technical support, notably through our industrial process audit.

The Filab laboratory uses dedicated equipment for accelerated corrosion testing by salt spray, with monitoring of exposure parameters and control of test conditions. Tests can be conducted according to recognized standards, particularly for ISO 9227 compliance requirements. To learn more, visit our page: where can I have ISO 9227-compliant salt spray tests performed.

When necessary, the Filab laboratory can supplement the test with observations and analysis to understand the origin of degradation: surface examination, coating characterization, metallographic cross-section or advanced imaging. Depending on the issue, other methods may be used, such as a laboratory tomography test to investigate certain internal configurations without immediate destruction.

To start your project, simply define your requirements with our teams: component type, target standard, exposure time, acceptance criteria, number of samples and technical objective. The Filab laboratory supports you in evaluating, comparing, qualifying, investigating and securing your products against corrosion risk.

A salt spray test is relevant at several stages: when developing a new product, before changing a supplier or surface treatment, as part of customer qualification, after corrosion appears in service, or to compare several protection solutions. Anticipating this test helps reduce technical, financial, and quality risks.