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Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Pine Beach, NJ

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Hard Chroming Stainless Steel

Hello,

Can anyone please advise if it is worth hard chroming a stainless steel valve stem (shaft). I have been told that hard chroming will provide lower coefficient of friction, harder wearing surface and less scale adhesion.

Is this true for stainless steel also or just for plain carbon steels?

Any advice would be appreciated

Thanks,

Paul Smithter
- Memphis, Tennessee

It's true but omits the additional advantage of freedom from galling.

Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey

Why don't you have the stainless item electropolished? If it is a 300 series stainless, the resulting surface will be chromium-enriched after electropolish, and the smooth surface will reduce the coefficient of friction.

Dale Woika
Surface Conversion Sciences - Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, USA

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