The quality of surface treatment of aluminum alloy (AA1050) with vinyltrimethoxysilane (VTMS) was examined. Calculated surface energy with Van Oss, Chaudury and Good (VOCG) method showed higher surface energy of treated specimens. Chemical interaction between silane layer and aluminium surface was examined via FTIR-ATR. In addition, practical adhesion was measured in dry, wet and recovered states via pull-off method and compared to adhesion strength of desmutted and chromated specimens. Results showed good adhesion performance in dry state for silane treated specimens. Corrosion protective performance of epoxy coating in the presence of silane layer on aluminum was studied with Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) and compared with coated desmutted and chromated specimens. Water sensitivity of silane layer resulted in poor protective performance of specimens treated at pH > isoelectric point (IEP). (c) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.