how long can I wait from application of alodine to application of mil-prf-23377.
I read somewhere that if more than 72 hours elapse I need to reprocess the part. can someone shed some light onthis issue
I didn't see anything about this in MIL-PRF-23377 or MIL-C-5541 or on the Technical Data Sheet for Alodine 600 or 1600. You can review the MIL documents here:
Unless the parts are stored in a "contaminated" environment I doubt there is a limit.
Maybe just a rinse or wipe with acetone wouldn't hurt though. To "re-process" the part would mean stripping the old alodine off and re-etching. Once dried, the converted (alodined) surface will not receive more alodine.