The authoritative public forum
  for Metal Finishing since 1989
  

  -----

Need to activate nickel for replating Ni-Cr

Hello... how can I activate nickel plate for re-plate Ni-cr plating? Is there a rip risk re-plated product?

Emre Tuna
metal - Istanbul, Besiktas, Turkey
2003

---

After you strip the chromium and clean and acid dip the part, you plate it with Wood's Nickel or similar nickel strike, then plate it. Yes, the likelihood of poorly activating the nickel surface and thus having a peeling problem is, in my experience, significantly higher than the likelihood of having the original nickel plating peel.

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

---

If you have a cyanide in your plant, just activate the nickel in a cathodic cyanide cleaner. This will ensure that you have no peeling of the first nickel layer from the second nickel layer.

Sara Michaeli
Tel-Aviv-Yafo, Israel
2003

You can re-plate your product very easily without any peeling if it is steel by make anodic degreasing then hydrochloric acid 400 g/l to remove chrome plating and to active the surface of nickel layer. Then strike copper cyanide then nickel and chrome plating but if your product not steel like zamz or aluminum may be very difficult. Re- plate it because the remove of chrome layer and activation of surface may be damage the metal of your product. So it become easily make a stripper for your product.

Aly Gomaa
- Cairo, Egypt
2003

I am supportive of Mr. Ted's suggestion to use wood's formulation to activate the previous nickel and replating. You will have to apply the buffing (Cloth Buff) to stop the possibility of peel off.

Avnissh Puri
- India
2003