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Electroless Nickel Plating on "Liquid Metal"

2003

To whom it may concern:

I am a job-shop plater, and recently I received a part, which is called liquid metal. This liquid metal consist of 76 percent Zirconium, 23 percent Titanium, few percent in Nickel and Copper. I tried almost everything (Cu strike, woods strike, fluoride base pretreatments etc). I keep getting poor adhesion. The parts must be finished with electroless nickel. Does anyone have any experience with this type of substrate? Any suggestions will be helpful.

Thank You,

Lee Min Gu
- Inchon, Korea

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I don't have personal experience with it, but this metal sounds extremely difficult to activate. Read the chapter on plating onto refractory substrates in Volume 5 of the ASM Metals Handbook and you may get some ideas.

Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
2003

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Dear Lee Min Gu,

Try pickling the part in Conc. Phosphoric acid after Solvent cleaning. One minute, no dilution. Avoid Copper plate, plate EN Directly.

Regards,

Khozem Vahaanwala
Saify Ind

Bengaluru, Karnataka, India

2003

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If the coating is a true liquid metal,that is to say, amorphous, they have to treat as though it were glass since there are no grain boundaries to initiate deposition.

Silver reduction than a low current density copper for a day or two followed by the nickel electroless. If it is not a true Liquid metal HF should work as with etching glass.

Louis Hirbour
- Anaheim, California, USA
2003