Wax Stop-offs for Plating on Aluminum Parts

A. It can be melted and after the plating can be steamed off. If plating bath is hot you have to use a high temperature melting wax.

A. Hi,
The wax required is usually a blend of hydrocarbon waxes, mainly consisting of microcrystalline wax. There are many different grades of microcrystalline wax, each with their individual characteristics. In order to select the correct wax specs, you need to work out which wax has the correct amount of flexibility and melting point.
Incorrect wax selection will result in cracking or lifting-off of the wax.

Regards,

Tom

A. Hi,
I've seen this a few times, and there are a couple of possible causes.
1) impurities in the water
2) impurities in the wax

I suggest you try replacing your water with pure, softened water. If this doesn't work try using a different, higher quality wax.

Which brand of wax are you using?

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Ed. note: Thanks for your continued help Tom! We don't suggest or discuss brands or specific proprietaries on this site though for a number of reasons. We've tried doing it under various arrangements, off and on for 21+ years in this forum, but it usually ends in ever-spammier boilerplate replies, hostility, phony plants from 'satisfied customers', disproportionately favorable comments because unhappy customers are afraid of hearing from lawyers, as well as complaints from our advertisers that they are happy to sponsor camaraderie and technical discussions, but not to pay for testimonials and contact info for their competitors who don't want to share in the cost of the site :-)