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ted_yosem
Curated with aloha by
Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
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  Click/tap ⇩ to a category or just scroll on down ...

 0. Choosing a Finish (corrosion, compatibility)
  1. Preparing the part (mech. prepchem. pretreatmasking & racking)
    2. Metallic Finishing (stainless & titaniumanodizing & light metalselectroplatingelectroless platingPVD & vacuum processesgalvanizingbluing/black oxideother inorganic processes)
      3. Organic Finishing (CED, electrocoatpowder coatinglacquers, clearcoatspainting, printing, adhesives)
        4. Post-treatments (chemical post-treatsbaking, soldering, dryingstripping & reworks)
          5. Supporting Issues (analysis, lab, QA/QCwater & wastesafety, emissionsplant/process engrg.specs, books, statslingometallurgyprecious metal recovery)
            6. NON-industrial (hobbyists, around homeresearch, thesisK-12 scienceArtists' Corner)
              7. Off topic but interesting

   Post a Question or RFQ


0. Choosing a finish, corrosion

Tin ceiling restoration 2000 square feet RFQ open to all: Chicago - 3/8/25

Mixing bright metal & bluing. Turning blued gun silver? - 3/7/25

61767-1i Looking for the hardest, unscratchable finish for jewelry RFQ open to all: Idaho - 2/2/25

Gold Plating a Kalash - 1/7/25

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1. Preparation

1a. MECH PREP topics: "Grinding, polishing, vibratory finishing, buffing, honing"

Need Tumble Finisher RFQ open to all: Phoenix AZ - 3/12/25

61801-1i Flattening aluminum panels warped by laser cutting - 2/6/25

Blasting in lieu of cleaning & pickling - 1/29/25

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1b. CHEM PREP topics: "Cleaning, pickling, etching, phosphatizing, activation"

Electropolishing Cost - 4/18/25

Wire pre-cleaning before plastic coating for better adhesion - 3/23/25

61822-1i Staining of hydraulic manifold blocks after alkaline wash - 3/16/25

TA/FA for Tri-cationic Zinc Phosphating? - 3/10/25

Best way to blacken zinc phosphate - 12/30/24

Manganese phosphate coating: issues and answers - 12/29/24

Mixed metal pretreatment configuration - 12/9/24

Electropolishing of silver - 12/3/24

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1c. Capping, plugging, masking, taping


adv. maskcoat banner 

61191-3i Masking for Selective Silver Plating - 3/8/25

61807-1i Dual tone nickel + gold electroplating - 2/19/25

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2. Metallic & inorganic finishes

2a. STAINLESS, TITANIUM, CORROSION-RESISTANT METALS PROCESSING

Local / Swab / Spot Passivation on Assembled, Laser Welded Part - 4/7/25

Passivate per MIL F 14072 E300 - 3/7/25

61700-1i Titanium anodizing for multi-color sheets for kitchen cabinets - 2/8/25

Can Titanium be Anodized in an Aluminum Anodizing Line? vipInquirer often helps others, so especially deserves our help - 1/29/25

Passivating Laser Cut Stainless Steel Problem - 1/22/25

Electrical Properties of Passivated Stainless Steel - 1/6/25

Electropolishing 4xx / 400 series stainless steel - 12/31/24

Can't remove old plastic protection film from stainless steel - 12/27/24

How to smoothly etch stainless steel materials - 12/26/24

"Rainbowing" and "Bluing" method for Stainless Steel - 12/14/24

Electropolishing stainless steel to a 'satin' finish - 12/6/24

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2b. ANODIZING AND LIGHT METAL TREATMENTS (Aluminum, Magnesium)

Global Metal Finishing

Excess dye on surface of anodized parts - 4/27/25

Aluminum conversion coating on clad vs. non-clad aluminum - 4/19/25

Anodizing thin sheets of aluminum - 4/18/25

58894-5i Material Defect or Hard Anodizing Defect? - 4/15/25

Hot (boiling) DI water seal after anodizing - 4/15/25

Color anodizing of die-cast aluminum - 4/8/25

61811-1i Black spots on one side of thread after Anodize and Dichromate Seal - 3/31/25 2nd Rqst

Gold Spots when Hard Anodizing 7075 Aluminum Gold Spots when Hard Anodizing 7075 Aluminum - 3/7/25

Carbon Anodizing Cathodes - 3/6/25

Chem Film on Aluminum is Cloudy - 3/5/25

Masking/stripping when chromate conversion and anodizing on same part - 3/5/25

56581-2i Rainbow effect / defect on anodized aluminum? - 3/1/25

61299-2i White dots on an anodised finish - 2/19/25

Ultrasonic rinsing after anodizing - 2/17/25

Alodine not sticking / rubbing off, but only at holes - 2/13/25

22258-5i Chromic acid anodized test panels fail only if near bottom of rack - 2/12/25

White dots on an anodised finish - 2/6/25

61775-1i Aluminum in the 1930's: "Deplated Finish" - 1/30/25

How to do copper plating on aluminum roller? - 1/30/25

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2c. ELECTROPLATING and ELECTROFORMING

How to get heavy gold plating - 4/27/25

61837-1i Blue Color Powder on Silver Plated Parts - 4/27/25

Nickel Plating defect: white patches - 4/25/25

Some problems in alkaline zinc plating - 4/25/25

Cadmium plating is blistering - 4/21/25

Hard Chrome Plating of Cast Iron - 4/16/25

Black nickel plating on EN problems - 4/11/25

58278-3i Chrome Plating of rotogravure cylinders: Problems & Solutions - 4/8/25

Plating zinc diecast (Zamak-3): Process sequence? - 4/6/25

Need a tiny amount of Fumetrol 140 for research RFQ - 4/6/25

Cashew paste and cadmium plate reaction? - 3/26/25

Zinc-Nickel Plating Intro, What & Why - 3/24/25

10051-2i Brass Plating Problems & Issues - 3/23/25

Plating of Copper Elements for Soldering/Welding - 3/20/25

Cyanide copper plating on zinc diecast - 3/5/25

Detecting & Repairing Scratches in Ni Plated Al6061 - 3/5/25

Non-cyanide Copper Plating - 3/5/25

Black Chrome Plater with Large Tanks Needed RFQ open to all: Wisconsin - 3/4/25

Replating chrome onto existing chrome - 2/26/25

Chrome plating: microcracking & pits - 2/26/25

Blisters of sulphamate nickel plating after sintering - 2/26/25

Need Cad 1 finishing for Restorations RFQ: West Coast - 2/19/25

HRc hardness of hard chrome plating - 2/16/25

In electroplating, What is a 'Strike Solution'? - 2/13/25

Need Gold electroplating of item for memorial plaque RFQ open to all: Mesa, AZ - 2/11/25

Silver plating Trumpets & Musical instruments - 2/11/25

Plating both outside AND inside of a tube - 2/9/25

61802-1i Acid zinc plating: Non coverage problem - 2/7/25

Surface Preparation of Molybdenum for Ni Plating - 2/7/25

Reddish discoloration in continuous brush gold plating of wire - 2/6/25

Sulfur embrittlement of Ni sulfamate platings: azodisulfonate, AUP, "magic stress reducer" - 2/1/25

61734-1 Cleaning Porous Pot Cathodes - There's gotta be a better way! vipInquirer often helps others, so especially deserves our help - 1/26/25

Alkaline zinc plating rundown streaking - 1/24/25

Hard Chrome Plating on Inconel 625 - 1/21/25

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2d. ELECTROLESS PLATING, PLATING ON PLASTICS, IMMERSION PLATING, CHROME-LOOK SPRAYS, LIQUID METAL COATINGS

Activating Electroless Nickel for more plating - 4/17/25

47083-9i Problems Chrome Plating ABS Plastic - 4/8/25

How to blacken electroless nickel - 4/7/25

26415-2i Spray chrome (Chrome-look paint) - 3/19/25

Silver mirroring puddles on glass, oxidizes at the edges - 3/2/25

SLA plastics activation for electroless coating - 3/1/25

Skip plating on ABS-PC when ABS is fine - 2/4/25

Electroless nickel plating onto stainless steel - 12/12/24

"Water spots" on electroless nickel plated parts - 11/25/24

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2e. PVD, CVD, ION IMPLANTATION, VACUUM PROCESSES

Need to TiN coat a circular blade, 90 mm dia x 2 mm thick - 200 pcs RFQ open to all: Murfreesboro, TN - 12/23/24

High Temperature PVD Coatings - 12/14/24

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2f. GALVANIZING, ALUMINIZING, HOT TIN DIPPING

Lead (Pb) in Hot Dip Galvanizing - 4/10/25

Trapped acid bleeds out from galvanizing - 3/15/25

Need Consultant for Galvanizing Plant RFQ: Australia - 2/2/25

Galvanizing flux: Ammonium chloride requirements and analysis - 1/22/25

61798-1i Galvanizing: Product Quality Issue with Shipped Containers - 1/22/25

Galvanizing kettle furnace and burner design - 1/22/25

Planning a small HDG plant - 1/6/25

56867-14i Spotting, Staining, Blackening of Hot Dip Galvanized Finish - 12/31/24

Hot-Dip Tinning Problems & Solutions: hard tin crystals - 12/6/24

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2g. BLACK OXIDE, BLUING, COLORING, PATINAS

Patinas for pewter - 3/27/25

How to get dark black surface on Turkish men's rings - 3/23/25

Prepping Stainless Steel for Blackening - 2/6/25

Need Wax for Ebonol C Blackening - 2/1/25

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2h. OTHER INORGANIC FINISHING: Mechanical Plating, Nitriding & QPQ, Metal Spray, Zinc-rich Dip-Spin Coatings, Sherardizing, Rust Preventatives, etc.

Geomet 750 Hp galvanizing - August 6

Ferritic Nitrocarburizing has red color to it? - June 15



3. ORGANIC FINISHING [PAINT, POWDER COATING] . . .

3a. ELECTROPAINT PRIMING, AUTOPHORETIC COATINGS

Pin holes in CED e-coating - 4/6/25

Sludge on top of parts when ED coating. Fix without cleaning tank? - 3/27/25

E-coating over Zinc or Zinc Alloy Plating - 1/10/25

61782-1i E-coat throwing power, coverage inside tubes - 12/11/24

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3b. POWDER COATING

Avoiding Powder Coating Buildup on Hooks, Racks, Carts & Fixtures? - 4/6/25

Emissivity of powder coated steel - 2/19/25

Actual costing of powder coating in India - October 6

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3c. LACQUERS, CLEAR COATS, ELECTROPHORETIC TINTING, ANTI-TARNISH

61821-1i Steel sealant for cold rolled countertop - 3/13/25

Want anti-pit solvent for Electrophoretic Lacquer - 12/4/24

Clear Coating Black Oxided Stainless Steel? - November 18

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3d. PAINTING, PRINTING, ADHESIVES AND OTHER ORGANIC COATINGS

White finish for Stainless Steel Dental Crowns - 3/6/25

61794-1i Putting plastisol on zinc plated parts - 12/29/24

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4. POST-TREATMENTS

4a. CHEMICAL POST-TREATMENTS [CHROMATE CONVERSION COATINGS, RUST PREVENTATIVES, PATINAS, COLORIZING]

Dummy Plating of Chemical Conversion Coating Bath - 4/25/25

Does Baking of Trivalent Passivates Produce Hexavalent Chromium? - 4/6/25

Sealing over cured Zinc Plating + Chromate - 2/11/25

37255-2i Restoring the yellow dichromate finish on automobile carburetors - 1/19/25

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4b. BAKING AND NON-CHEMICAL POST-TREATMENTS [HYDROGEN EMBRITTLEMENT AND DE-EMBRITTLEMENT, ANNEALING, WHISKERS, SOLDERING, REFLOWING]

Hydrogen Embrittlement in Plating - 4/25/25

Hydrogen embrittlement baking was interrupted - 2/6/25

Solder is de-wetting in hot oil bath - 2/3/25

Hydrogen Embrittlement Failure. Need Details for Chromium Plating Baking - 1/30/25

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4c. STRIPPING, REWORKS, ETC.

adv. metalx

Strip (remove) Copper Plating from Steel - 3/31/25

Stripping chrome plating Q&A, Problems & Solutions - 12/23/24

Zinc Phosphate stripping for coating weight - 11/25/24

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5. SUPPORTING ISSUES

5a. ANALYSIS, LAB TECHNIQUE, Q.A., SALT SPRAY TESTING

Cad Plating Solution limits per AMS-QQ-P-416 - 4/19/25

Analyze acid level (HCl) in ferric chloride solution - 4/10/25

Determine % Nitric Acid. Titration? Conversion factor? - 3/31/25

Power Outage During Salt Spray Test - 3/27/25

Salt Spray Hours vs. real life exposure - 3/11/25

Need Lab Help with Stainless Product Development - 1/7/25

On line analysis of chrome concentration? vipInquirer often helps others, so especially deserves our help - 12/21/24

Caustic Etch Analysis -- aluminium anodizing - 12/18/24

Analyze Chrome Plating Bath; Determine sulphates - 12/9/24

Analysis of potassium carbonate in cyanide plating bath - 12/3/24

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5b. WASTE & WASTEWATER TREATMENT, POLLUTION CONTROL

61785-1i Spot test for cyanide in waste water - 1/26/25

Determining if WWT sludge is hazardous? - October 9

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5c. SAFETY ISSUES, EMISSIONS, TOXICITY, ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS

Toxicity of stainless flatware - 2/26/25

Safety of Drinking D.I. Water - 12/18/24

Safety of "Chrome" Vinyl Wrap - 12/15/24

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5d. PLANT & PROCESS ENGINEERING, CONSTRUCTION

Cleaning up Chromic Acid Surface Contamination - 4/20/25

Tips on making up alkaline zinc concentrate - 3/17/25

Feed & Bleed System for HCl Tanks - 3/10/25

Bus Bar vs. Cable for 2-Step Electrolytic Coloring - 2/17/25

Making Dummy Cathodes for a Plating Bath - 2/17/25

Can we have a clean silver plating plant without acid? - 2/6/25

Learn more about automatic electroplating production lines - 12/28/24

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5e. QUESTIONS ABOUT SOFTWARE, SPECS, BOOKS, EDUCATION, INDUSTRY STATS, HISTORY, ETC.

Plating Process Control Q&A's - 4/21/25

AS9100 Aluminium Anodising - "Special Processes" - 4/8/25

Does MIL-STD-186F require litmus test of trivalent chromated surfaces? - 2/27/25

Boeing Chloride Limits for Nickel Sulfamate Plating Bath? - 2/5/25

Nitric acid: Are the volume ratios in passivation specs based on 100% Nitric Acid? - 1/24/25

Meaning of "Zinc electrolyte plating + leaching"? - 1/16/25

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5f. W...W...W...WORD OF THE WEEK

What is Black Luster® Finish for Fasteners - 12/12/24

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5g. MOSTLY METALLURGY; Heat Treatment

3d printed Inconel 718 part turns blue in vacuum heat treatment - November 16

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5h. METAL RECOVERY

Best & easiest way to refine gold dust to get 99.9% purity - 3/16/25

Recover gold from gold plated stainless steel wire - 1/14/25

Extracting Gold from Computer Circuit Boards? - 1/5/25

Remove tin plating from copper pots, trays, cookware, etc. - 12/15/24

See more threads in this category



6. NON-INDUSTRIAL ISSUES

Hobbyists, DIY, Around Home

0757-4i National Cash Registers: How to Restore & Refinish - 4/24/25

Imitation Cadmium plating turning cloudy white - 4/17/25

Will Zinc Plating Cause Galvanic Issue on Brazed Steel? - 4/17/25

Use Glass for Stovetop - 4/12/25

Hoyt (& Lyman) Metal Bars / Ingots - 4/8/25

Grout cleaner stains on my stainless steel fridge! - 4/7/25

Salt & Pepper Shakers: Sterling or Plated? Refinishing and Restoring - 3/31/25

Electroless Nickel (EN) Plating on Aluminum: Adhesion (Peel-off strength) - 3/29/25

Refinishing Oil Rubbed Bronze - 3/23/25

Electroplating onto glass like iPhone screens - 3/10/25

7022i How to strip plated silver off of copper collectibles - 3/7/25

Is headboard "brass" or what; how to clean and refinish? - 3/5/25

Do It Yourself Nickel and Copper Plating - 3/5/25

Electroless gold plating solution - 3/5/25

National Cash Registers: How to Restore & Refinish - 3/4/25

Dirigold/Dirilyte: How to Polish Bronze Flatware - 3/1/25

Home nickel plating with vinegar & salt - 2/16/25

Silver plated trays and silverware: What is the base metal? - 2/9/25

0283-3i Finishing of Kenrick 19th century cast iron - 1/24/25

Acid Zinc Plating Brightener Q&A - 1/18/25

61146-1i Dumbbells have white corrosion on them - 1/14/25

Hobbyist Copper Plating on 3D Plastics: Help Fine-Tuning It - 1/8/25

Electroplating bath plates Nickel or Copper depending on voltage - 12/30/24

Need food-safe pliers - 12/30/24

Lead-free Antiquing Wears Right Off - 12/28/24

Restore silver damaged by peroxide - 12/28/24

Can't remove old plastic protection film from stainless steel - 12/27/24

Pre-coating for sublimation transfers onto ceramic - 12/27/24

61111-1i Brass Threshold Turned Silver from Polishing - 12/12/24

Model railroading: Effect of oxidation of nickel silver on its conductivity - 12/6/24

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6b. RESEARCH, THESIS TOPICS, UNIVERSITY & POST-GRAD STUDENTS

gold plated magnetic powder Need 20µ gold or silver coating on 50µ dia. spherical magnets RFQ open to all: Southampton, UK - 2/17/25

Electroplating (Electrodeposition) of Niobium - 12/26/24

Adding Fe/Cu to Hard Chrome Plating Bath as DOE? - 12/15/24

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6c. K-12 Science Projects, Grammar & High School Student Questions

Electroplating science fair project - 3/22/25

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6d. The Artists' Corner

61831-1i Waxed patinated bronze surface oxidising - 3/31/25

benzotriazole Benzotriazole and substitutes for brass corrosion control - November 16

61750-1 Forcing a white patina on zinc for watch dials - October 11

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7. DRIFTED OFF FINISHING, BUT INTERESTING :-)

19039i Need Legs for Martin Wood Stove - 4/28/25

23897-14i How to identify old cast iron floor lamp? - 4/27/25

Is this ore/rock Platinum, Palladium & Rhodium? A meteorite? - 2/22/25

McClary Easy Polisher Scrubber Buffer Pads - 2/18/25

Extracting elemental titanium from Titanium Dioxide - 2/17/25

Restoring Comstock Castle cast iron stove - 2/9/25

54890-8i Theda Sterling Silver Medals, Crosses, Jewelry Q&A - 2/5/25

29370-45i Identify "STN" Hallmark on Necklace - 1/29/25

Removing Silica Water Stains - 1/24/25

Barber Chair Restoration Q&A's and Successes - 1/24/25

Fixing scratched glass - 12/18/24

Need sweet spirits of nitre (the traditional folk medicine) - 12/4/24

Need Door for Kalamazoo Stove RFQ open to all: New Jersey, USA - 12/3/24

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