Surface Treatment Water Systems
Precision-engineered water treatment for plating, anodising and coatings
Surface finishing operations rely heavily on water—both in terms of volume and quality. Whether it’s cleaning, rinsing, or maintaining chemical bath stability, water must be treated to exacting standards to ensure consistent, high-quality surface results and regulatory compliance.
AllWater designs and supplies surface treatment water systems that meet the needs of plating shops, anodising facilities, and coating lines. Our solutions address the entire water cycle: from incoming supply and process water to rinse water treatment, recirculation, and discharge control.
We serve clients across automotive, aerospace, electronics, metal finishing and general manufacturing, offering both standalone units and fully integrated water treatment systems tailored to specific surface processes.
Engineered for Surface Finishing Precision
Water plays a critical role in many surface treatment stages, including:
- Surface preparation (degreasing, cleaning, etching)
- Electroplating and electroless plating
- Anodising and passivation
Conversion coating (chromating, phosphating)
Painting and powder coating pre-treatment
Final rinsing and neutralisation
AllWater systems ensure that water used at each stage supports chemical balance, avoids contamination, and delivers repeatable results—all while helping you manage water usage and meet discharge limits.
Systems Designed for Surface Treatment Environments
Our systems are purpose-built for the challenges of surface finishing, including:
- Contaminant-laden rinse waters
- Variable flows and peak demand
- Aggressive chemical environments
- High uptime and reliability requirements
AllWater solutions combine durability, flexibility, and compliance, with a focus on minimal operator input and robust control integration.
Key Treatment Solutions Include:
Rinse Water Recirculation and Reuse
Rinsing after plating or anodising can consume vast amounts of water. We provide systems that enable water reuse through:
- Membrane filtration systems (e.g. ultrafiltration, nanofiltration, reverse osmosis)
- Ion exchange deionisation for polishing rinse streams
- Closed-loop recirculation systems for cascade rinses
- Conductivity monitoring and control for bath quality
These systems reduce water waste and lower effluent volumes while maintaining critical rinse purity.
Incoming Water Conditioning
Many finishing processes require softened, deionised, or low-conductivity water for optimal performance. We design pre-treatment systems that remove hardness, dissolved salts, and particulates, including:
- Water softening systems
- RO and EDI units
- Cartridge and media filtration
This helps reduce scale in heating systems, improves chemical bath stability, and enhances surface adhesion in coatings.
Wastewater Treatment and Discharge Compliance
Effluent from surface treatment can contain metals, acids, alkalis, surfactants, and particulates—all subject to strict environmental controls.
Our wastewater treatment systems are tailored to your effluent characteristics and discharge consent limits. Technologies include:
- pH correction and neutralisation
- Coagulation and flocculation systems
- Metal precipitation and recovery
- Sludge settlement and dewatering
- Outfall monitoring instrumentation
These systems help you comply with EA and local authority permits while minimising sludge and disposal costs.
Plating Bath Maintenance and Filtration
Contaminants in plating or coating baths reduce efficiency, compromise quality, and lead to increased chemical consumption.
We offer coating process filtration and bath polishing systems using:
- Bag and cartridge filters
- Activated carbon filtration
- Inline circulation and filtration skids
These systems extend bath life, reduce chemical replacement costs, and improve plating or coating consistency.
Our support includes
Telephone & remote diagnostics for rapid fault identification
System troubleshooting and root cause analysis
Planned service visits tailored to your production schedule
Guidance on optimisation, upgrades and retrofit options
Ongoing training and user support post-installation
On-site engineering support from qualified specialists
Custom-Built Control and Integration
AllWater systems for surface treatment can be fully automated and integrated with your existing control systems, including SCADA, PLC, or remote telemetry platforms.
We also provide inline instrumentation for real-time monitoring of:
- pH
- Conductivity
- Flow
- Temperature
- ORP and redox potential
These sensors support proactive maintenance, reduce manual testing, and help operators keep baths and discharges within specification.
Supporting All Surface Finishing Sectors
We design, supply, and support water treatment systems across a wide range of finishing environments, including:
- Metal plating facilities (zinc, nickel, chrome, tin, copper)
- Anodising plants (aluminium, titanium)
- Electronics and PCB manufacturing
- Automotive surface preparation
- Aerospace and defence coatings
- General engineering workshops
Whether you’re building a new line or upgrading an ageing system, AllWater helps ensure your water quality matches your process demands.
Why Choose AllWater for Surface Treatment?
- Proven experience in plating water treatment and anodising water systems
- Tailored system design for new builds or retrofit installations
- High-performance filtration, disinfection, and effluent control
- WRAS-compliant materials and ISO-certified quality
- Full installation, commissioning, and operator training
- Multi-year service contracts with price locking options
- Access to specialist components, spares and instrumentation
We partner with your site engineers, process chemists, and compliance managers to ensure all treatment systems support quality and safety from start to finish.
Committed to Excellence
Ready to Discuss Your Surface Water Treatment Needs?
Let’s talk about your surface treatment needs. Whether you require plating water treatment, anodising water systems, or full-site effluent control, we’ll help you design and implement a cost-effective, compliant solution.
Ready for Support?
Unsure how to optimise water treatment for your industry? Our team is here to help. We’ll assess your requirements, design a solution, and provide the quality, reliability, and service you deserve. Reach out to discuss how we can help you achieve your operational goals.
Get in touch today to discuss your requirements.
Let’s keep your systems running at their best.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Low conductivity, low hardness water is typically required to ensure bath stability and quality surface finishes. We provide custom solutions based on your metal type and process chemistry.
Yes. We offer systems that enable rinse water reuse through RO, ion exchange, and UF. These can reduce both water consumption and effluent costs significantly.
Yes. We provide ion exchange and precipitation systems to help recover valuable metals from rinse water or spent baths, supporting both compliance and cost recovery.
Limits depend on your site and local authority permit. Common parameters include pH, heavy metals (e.g. nickel, zinc), COD, and suspended solids. We can test, design, and maintain systems to meet these limits reliably.
Absolutely. We offer site audits and upgrades for old or inefficient water systems, including retrofitting new monitoring instruments or replacing worn filters and dosing units.
Water Treatment Case Studies
Explore our case studies to see how AllWater Technologies has partnered with clients across various industries to design and deliver tailored water treatment solutions. Each project highlights our commitment to meeting exacting standards, solving unique challenges, and optimising water management processes to help our clients achieve their operational goals. Discover how our expertise and dedication to quality have made a real difference for businesses just like yours.
A Handful of our Valued Clients
Get in Touch with AllWater Technologies
We’re here to help with all your water treatment needs. Whether you have questions about our services, want to discuss a project, or need support, our team is ready to assist you. Fill out the form for general enquiries, or you are welcome to email direct or give us a call.
AllWater House
Unit 2,
Cheddar Business Park,
Wedmore Road,
Cheddar
BS27 3EB
Opening hours
Mon-Fri: 08:30-17:30 (GMT)