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Curated with aloha by
Ted Mooney, P.E. RET

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Plating aluminum without zincating

Q. I need to electroless nickel plate aluminum parts for a space instrument. Zinc is not allowed. When using zincate to prepare the aluminum for the electroless nickel, is there zinc remaining on the part or is all of the zinc removed in the electroless nickel bath.

William Perry
Research and Development - San Antonio, Texas
2003

"The Surface
Treatment &
Finishing of
Aluminium and
Its Alloys"
by Wernick, Pinner
& Sheasby
pinner

(note: this book is two volumes)

on eBay or

AbeBooks

or Amazon

(affil links)

A. Good luck! Most of the zinc stays there, and it is difficult to electroplate aluminum without zincating. The only alternative I've heard of is to electroplate onto a phosphoric acid anodized aluminum surface, but I don't personally know anyone who has done it.

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

A. Teflon can be applied with a dip process or can be sprayed, after the last rinse but before sealing.

Drew Nosti, CEF
Anodize USA

Ladson, South Carolina

Update! Although I'm not familiar with the process myself, Raafat Albendary reports a method to electroplate onto aluminum without involving zinc in thread 173/11.

Luck & Regards,

ted_yosem
Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
January 30, 2025

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