# Iron phosphate pretreatments

Supplied iron-phosphate pretreatment products, ingredient disclosures, property bases, conversion-film quantities, and limits of multimetal and paint-performance claims.

Reviewed: 2026-10-30

Tags: chemicals, pretreatments, phosphates, reference

## Identity and boundaries

Henkel’s iron-phosphate **M-FE 3990** TDS gives **pH approximately 2.5 for 100% product**, with no pH test temperature stated. The JC23KG WS SDS gives **2.60 for 100.0% product at 20 °C**. These values characterize supplied product and do not provide a bath setpoint. [Henkel 3990 TDS](https://datasheets.tdx.henkel.com/BONDERITE-M-FE-3990-en_GL.pdf) Hubbard-Hall describes Enerox IP-6 as a combined cleaner and iron-phosphate concentrate for steel and aluminum. [Enerox IP-6 bulletin](https://www.hubbardhall.com/document?id=2201021&type=TDS)

Chemetall lists Gardobond A iron phosphate and Gardobond X zirconium/titanium thin films separately. [Gardobond technology portfolio](https://www.chemetall.com/global/en/technologies/gardobond)

**Scope.** This reference concerns supplied pretreatment formulations. It does not describe fertilizer, food, pharmaceutical, or lithium-battery iron phosphates. It does not specify bath preparation or operating conditions. Related subject context is available in [Surface-finishing processes](../../processes/finishing/index.md).

## Exact products and document identities

The following sources describe different products or document contexts. Their values are not a common specification.

| Product | Document identity and applicability |
| --- | --- |
| Hubbard-Hall Enerox IP-6 | Product code 2201021. US supplier bulletin revised May 7, 2025, four pages. [Bulletin](https://www.hubbardhall.com/document?id=2201021&type=TDS) |
| Henkel BONDERITE M-FE 3990, formerly Duridine 3990 | Global English TDS dated August 2020, reference 0.1, two pages. No package IDH is specified. [TDS](https://datasheets.tdx.henkel.com/BONDERITE-M-FE-3990-en_GL.pdf) |
| Henkel BONDERITE M-FE 3990 JC23KG WS | GB English SDS request for material 2587308. SDS 46999, V006.2, revised June 12, 2024, printed August 10, 2025, 17 pages. [SDS](https://api.henkeldx.com/v1/mysds/SafetyDataSheetSet?Appid=%27YPSSW_SDSUA_EXT%27&Dmskey=%27%27&Laiso=%27EN%27&Matnr=%272587308%27&Rvlid=%27GB%27) |
| Henkel BONDERITE M-FE 500LT IRON PHOSPHATE, formerly PREP-N-COTE 500LT | US SDS, IDH and item 890562, revision 007.0, issued June 5, 2025, six pages. [SDS](https://api.henkeldx.com/v1/mysds/SafetyDataSheetSet?Appid=%27YPSSW_SDSUA_EXT%27&Dmskey=%27%27&Laiso=%27EN%27&Matnr=%27890562%27&Rvlid=%27US%27) |

**Synthesis.** The 3990 family name connects the TDS and SDS, but their dates and package specificity differ. Agreement on one property does not prove that every regional or historical formulation is identical.

## Ingredient disclosures and functions

The 500LT SDS section 3 discloses the following hazardous components for the identified supplied product. Its footnote states that exact percentages can vary or be trade secret, and that ranges support protective measures. [500LT SDS, page 2](https://api.henkeldx.com/v1/mysds/SafetyDataSheetSet?Appid=%27YPSSW_SDSUA_EXT%27&Dmskey=%27%27&Laiso=%27EN%27&Matnr=%27890562%27&Rvlid=%27US%27)

| Component | CAS number | Weight % |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Sodium xylene sulfonate | 1300-72-7 | 1 to 5 |
| Phenol phosphate ester | 39464-70-5 | 1 to 5 |
| Sodium 3-nitrobenzenesulphonate | 127-68-4 | 1 to 5 |
| Fatty alcohol C8-10, EO-PO, benzylether | 68154-99-4 | 1 to 5 |
| Sodium chlorate | 7775-09-9 | 0.1 to 1 |

The JC23KG WS SDS separately lists phosphoric acid, hydroxylamine dihydrogenphosphate, sodium 3-nitrobenzenesulphonate, and sodium p-cumenesulphonate, each at 1 to less than 5%. That table labels these as concentrations without explicitly printing a mass or volume basis. Its detergent declaration reports phosphates at 15 to 30% and nonionic surfactants below 5%. These are different disclosure groupings, not additive totals. [3990 JC23KG WS SDS, page 3](https://api.henkeldx.com/v1/mysds/SafetyDataSheetSet?Appid=%27YPSSW_SDSUA_EXT%27&Dmskey=%27%27&Laiso=%27EN%27&Matnr=%272587308%27&Rvlid=%27GB%27)

Enerox IP-6's bulletin identifies phosphoric acid. It associates surfactants and detergents with oil and grease removal, and conditioning agents, acids, and accelerators with phosphating. It describes depletion through reaction and drag-out. These are product-level functional statements without a complete ingredient inventory. [Enerox IP-6 bulletin, page 2](https://www.hubbardhall.com/document?id=2201021&type=TDS)

**Synthesis.** An SDS component's name alone does not assign its function in a proprietary formulation. These disclosures do not identify the complete formula, balance, total solids, or total active content. Compound percentages are not elemental phosphorus, P₂O₅-equivalent phosphorus, or acid-equivalent percentages. Those reporting bases require a defined analyte and calculation basis. Neither supplied-product table measures dissolved metals, oils, or contamination in a used bath.

## Properties retain their measurement bases

| Exact document | Supplied-product property | Stated basis and gap |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 3990 global TDS | Density approximately 1.18; pH approximately 2.5 | Density at 20 °C under DIN 51757, with no density unit printed. pH labeled 100%, without a test temperature. |
| 3990 JC23KG WS SDS | Density 1.16 to 1.20 g/cm³; pH 2.60 | Both at 20 °C. Density by oscillation; pH for 100.0% product. |
| 500LT US SDS | "Density/Relative density" 1.21 to 1.24; pH 3.5 | Density entry at 60 °F, 15.56 °C, without a unit or reference-liquid basis. pH has no stated concentration or temperature. |

Sources are the [3990 TDS, page 1](https://datasheets.tdx.henkel.com/BONDERITE-M-FE-3990-en_GL.pdf), [JC23KG WS SDS, page 8](https://api.henkeldx.com/v1/mysds/SafetyDataSheetSet?Appid=%27YPSSW_SDSUA_EXT%27&Dmskey=%27%27&Laiso=%27EN%27&Matnr=%272587308%27&Rvlid=%27GB%27), and [500LT SDS, page 3](https://api.henkeldx.com/v1/mysds/SafetyDataSheetSet?Appid=%27YPSSW_SDSUA_EXT%27&Dmskey=%27%27&Laiso=%27EN%27&Matnr=%27890562%27&Rvlid=%27US%27). The JC23KG WS SDS separately reports analytical pH 2.6 to 3.2 for 1% product in demineralized water at 20 °C, by potentiometer. The percentage basis is unspecified. This is a test sample, not an operating target.

**Synthesis.** Density has mass-per-volume units; specific gravity is a ratio with reference conditions. An ambiguously labeled number cannot silently acquire g/cm³. Neat-product pH, analytical test-solution pH, and bath pH describe different samples. pH does not measure total acid or total phosphate. Free-acid and total-acid "points" depend on their analytical definitions. Neither is a universal concentration unit or a transferable conversion to product percentage. No universal pointage conversion is established here.

## Conversion film and performance context

Henkel's 3990 TDS describes an amorphous, mainly iron-phosphate coating. It reports 0.4 to 0.8 g/m² on cold-rolled steel and iron. It requires a suitable cleaning booster and conditions aluminum and hot-dip-galvanized conversion-coating claims on fluoride-containing products. It also describes a separate additive requirement for substantial aluminum or galvanized throughput. These qualifications prevent a universal multimetal claim. [3990 TDS, page 1](https://datasheets.tdx.henkel.com/BONDERITE-M-FE-3990-en_GL.pdf)

Enerox IP-6's bulletin associates a typically adherent coating above 30 mg/ft² with its recommended process conditions. Its organic-coating compatibility statement depends on subsequent surface conditioning. The bulletin supplies no comparative adhesion or corrosion test dataset. [Enerox IP-6 bulletin, pages 1 and 3](https://www.hubbardhall.com/document?id=2201021&type=TDS)

**Derived units.** Coating mass per area is deposited-film mass, not bath concentration or percentage of supplied product. By unit conversion, 1 mg/ft² is approximately 0.010764 g/m²; the Enerox statement therefore corresponds to above approximately 0.323 g/m². This arithmetic does not establish identical films, coating-mass methods, or performance. Thickness also requires film-density and structural assumptions absent from these comparisons.

**Synthesis.** Cleaning and phosphating in one product do not establish removal of every soil, oxide, or scale. A multimetal product description does not establish the same film chemistry on every alloy. Adhesion and corrosion conclusions require the actual substrate, preparation, pretreatment, post-treatment, paint system, cure, and test method. Neither coating mass nor a generic corrosion-resistance claim establishes service life or a salt-spray acceptance value.

## Standards and substance claims

ISO 9717:2024, fourth edition published July 2024, concerns phosphate conversion coatings usually applied to ferrous materials, aluminum, zinc, and their alloys. Its public scope identifies the subject; it does not certify any product or customer process. No paid requirements, acceptance tables, or test procedure are reproduced here. [ISO public scope](https://www.iso.org/standard/83693.html)

Henkel's RoHS confirmation downloaded with the date October 30, 2026 names 500LT as delivered and references Directive 2011/65/EU as amended by 2015/863. It states that restricted substances do not exceed the referenced limits, with a knowledge-and-belief disclaimer. The document request identifies material 593944 in the CA context, distinct from the US SDS item above. [Manufacturer confirmation](https://api.henkeldx.com/v1/mysds/SafetyDataSheetSet?Appid=%27YPSSW_ROHSUA_EXT%27&Dmskey=%27%27&Laiso=%27EN%27&Matnr=%27593944%27&Rvlid=%27CA%27)

**Synthesis.** A threshold-based statement is not a nondetect result or current-lot assay. "Chromium-free," "heavy-metal-free," and other absence claims need their exact product, definition, jurisdiction, date, and analytical scope. A family-level alternative cannot establish an absence claim for every formulation. None of these documents establishes universal environmental, food-contact, medical, or customer acceptance. A stock-product declaration also does not characterize used-bath waste.

## Source coverage and limits

Reviewed October 30, 2026 PDT. The documents are dated public references, not lot certificates. The RoHS endpoint supplies a dated download; that date alone does not establish a formulation change. The historical 3990 TDS remains distinct from the later package-specific SDS. No exact alloy grades or customer approvals are established.

Coverage includes the complete available TDS text and relevant SDS ingredient and property tables, their qualifications, and the one-page RoHS confirmation. The Enerox SDS was not retrievable during this review; the bulletin does not supply its ingredient percentages or concentrate density. No 500LT performance TDS was verified. Chemetall's undated portfolio is a family-level snapshot. Its exact-product TDS and SDS are offered through customer access, so no Gardobond formulation properties are inferred. [Chemetall document-access statement](https://www.chemetall.com/global/en/technologies/gardobond)

No complete formulation, lot assay, coating phase analysis, comparable corrosion dataset, solids specification, universal acid-point conversion, or customer operating recipe follows from this evidence.