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Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Pine Beach, NJ
The authoritative public forum
for Metal Finishing since 1989
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Wood's Nickel Strike?
Q. Maybe this question seems strange, but could you be so kind and explain me what the "Wood's nickel strike" is? I suppose it's a chloride bath with low pH, but I'm not sure. Thanks in advance.
Adam Wittmann- Poland
1999
sometimes on
AbeBooks or Amazon
(affil links)
free pdf is currently available from academia.edu
A. Not at all strange, Adam:-)
Stainless steel, and nickel itself, are very difficult to properly plate onto because of their natural passivity. Don Wood (deceased) developed a combination activator/strike bath for the purpose. As you surmised, it's a nickel chloride bath at low pH. Specifically, per the Metal Finishing Guidebook, it's:
- Nickel chloride 16-64 oz/gal.
- Hydrochloric acid 8-32 fl oz/gal (with a 1:1 ratio of nickel chloride to hydrochloric acid recommended)
- Room temperature
- Start work anodically at 10-20 ASF for 2 minutes, then plate at 20-200 ASF for 1-4 minutes (although not everyone starts with that anodic cycle).
More detail can be found in the Guidebook. Good luck.
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
Q. Can you translate your units to metric please.
rayde- Glasgow, Scotland
July 29, 2024
Ed. note: Since 1989 this forum has enjoyed the camaraderie & warm aloha which real names & locations afford. If you're not into that spirit, those who do post with their real name may be less likely to engage with you.
A. Hi.
Although metric units are usually better, I love the simplicity of Robert Probert's suggested formulation: 2 qt/gal HCl, 2 lb/gal NiCl :-)
2 quarts HCl per gallon = 64 fl oz/gal X 7.81 = 500 ml/l
2 lb Nickel chloride per gallon = 32 oz/gal / 0.134 = 239 g/l
20-200 ASF x 0.108 = 2.2-21 Amps/dm2
Luck & Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
A. Wood's Nickel strike
Hydrochloric acid 8-10 % by vol.
Nickel chloride 25-35 oz/gal
Cathodic Current 2000 amps per 30-40 sq.ft.
Time to plate 2-3 minutes
You can plate Stainless Steel parts.
Before you plate need activation.
Electroplate consultant - Sterling Heights
Q. I just recently started using Wood's nickel strike and I must say my results are nothing short of spectacular! I had been using another product. So my question is, is the Wood's nickel strike made from a particular company or is that name just a catch-all name for that particular mixture? I hope this doesn't seem like a stupid question. Thanks, I have a lot of time on my hands.
Richard Courtright- San Francisco California USA
November 23, 2014
A. Hi Richard. It was invented/developed by Don Wood (dec.) of Hill-Cross Company [a finishing.com supporting advertiser], but has been generic for a very long time now. It contains nothing but nickel chloride and hydrochloric acid -- nothing proprietary.
Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
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