Sound technical content, curated with aloha by
Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Pine Beach, NJ
The authoritative public forum
for Metal Finishing since 1989
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Can stainless steel be chrome plated?
Q. I would like to ask your advice on chrome plating some hardware on our sailboat that has slightly rusted. These are stainless steel winches- about 10 of them in various sizes from about 6"H X 5"D (size 16)... to 10"H X 8"D (size 56).
Only the drum needs refinishing, not the internal parts. Is this practical? Can you give me an idea of the time/cost involved? If not, any suggestions as to how to remove any rust and polish it?
Thanks so much for your time here... it's appreciated.
Looking forward to a reply!
Annie C [last name deleted for privacy by Editor]- Dallas, Texas
A. Hi Annie. Remember that chrome plating is very slippery. If this winch relies on friction, you must be careful about the idea of chrome plating it. I think chrome polish or Copper Glo ⇦this on eBay [affil links] or other metal cleaner should be able to remove the rust. Good luck.
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
2001
Decorative Chrome plating 304 Stainless steel foot pegs
by Weiner & Walmsley
on AbeBooks
(rarely)
or eBay
(rarely) or
Amazon
(rarely)
(affil links)
Q. Our company manufactures after market Harley Davidson stainless steel shifter rods. We have a line of matching 304 stainless steel foot pegs, polished to a .05 finish. Polishing finer to a number one finish is our trademark finish for the customers. The foot pegs need the scratch resistance of chrome, for finish durability. Can you send us a chrome specification sheet to follow please? Our local chrome company has turned our last test foot pegs a "milky white" color.
Thank you,
Bobby Joe Marsh- Lake Stevens, Washington, USA
2003
A. Milky is either improper activation of the SS, a current break during plating, bad chemistry, or too thick a chrome deposit. Limit to 50 microinch. It is possible, with much labor to buff the milky chrome to a mirror finish but this is only a doctor step.
Jon Quirt- Minneapolis, Minnesota
2003
A. What you need is another plater. Any shop that would send back milky chrome plate on a decorative item is less than fully competent. I would not even give them a second chance. A spec sheet will not do you any good. There are fair sized books on the subject.PS, ask for a refund and next time send a specification of what you want, with the parts, then there is very little argument.
James Watts- Navarre, Florida
2003
Q. On a recent building project, we specified some perforated brushed stainless steel panels for finished wall panels. The owner is objecting to their appearance (too industrial looking) and would like for them to be chrome plated. Is this possible? Some of the panels are 4' x 4' and a very heavy gauge. Thanks.
Lynn HakeArchitect - Dallas, Texas
2004
A. Hi Lnnn. Yes, stainless steel can be chrome plated. It requires a little different method to activate than carbon steel, but many chrome plating shops can do it. I'm not sure that it's still current practice, and on what models, but the trim work on many automobiles was stainless steel with a flash of chrome, as one example. But you and the owner will have to decide on what look you want.
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
2004
A. If you are only going for the look, I would say that it's easier/cheaper to electropolish your items. The look will be very close; probably the owner wouldn't be able to see the difference.
Bo KønigFood industry - Odense, Denmark
2004
Multiple threads merged: please forgive chronology errors :-)
Chrome plate on stainless steel 304
I have a stainless steel part (304) which required chrome plating. However, my supplier told me that they cannot do the chrome plating on stainless steel 304. May I ask the reasons? At the end, they made the part out from electro polishing.
Peter WrongA and S Int'l Co Ltd - Hong Kong China
2005
A. Hi Peter. Your supplier was wrong. Plating on stainless steel does require different pretreatment than plating on steel, but it is certainly not impossible.
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
2005
by Jack Dini
on AbeBooks
or eBay or
Amazon
(affil links)
A. Dear Peter,
I think your supplier may be saying he is not able to do it himself. Plating of SS is very common, but requires a different pre-treatment process to other materials.
Tell your supplier he needs to use a "Woods Nickel strike" to achieve good adhesion before applying subsequent deposits. He should understand this and be able to help you.
Regards,
- Hong Kong
2005
Q. Which grade of stainless steel would be suitable for nickel or chrome plating?
Nesligul WagnerTermosan AS - Istanbul
2006
|
A. Hello Nesligul. Most common grades of stainless steel can be reliably plated after a Wood's Nickel Strike or another robust preparatory sequence. There may be some exotic grades that would be especially difficult to activate. Please try to describe the details of your situation. Thanks. Ted Mooney, P.E. Striving to live Aloha finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey 2006 A. The easiest to plate is the 400 series, but 300 series are not that bad IF they are not free cutting. Avoid leaded material or set up special tanks to handle it. 304Se can be a problem for some platers. 304 should be able to be plated by most platers with few defects. High temp materials like hastelloy and waspeloy can be a challenge. James Watts- Navarre, Florida 2006 |
Q.
We are manufacturing radiators, both in steel ST 37, and stainless steel S304, one of our customer asked chrome plating on stainless steel. We had never tried it before, I should either find the appropriate method of chrome plating S304 or find an appropriate grade of stainless for coating.
Nesligul Wagner- Istanbul, Turkey
2006
A. What do you mean by radiator? I think of a car radiator and chrome plating would be impossible on the fins. Not difficult, impossible for more than a mm or less.
Chrome is not a great conductor of heat, so do you know what the potential customer's application or desires are?
- Navarre, Florida
2006
The product is probably what we would call a "towel warmer". There is a good picture of a towel warmer on letter 25240.
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
2006
Chrome plating of complex stainless steel fenders
Q. Hi there. I am manufacturer of stainless steel fenders made of SS tubes; until now I am getting my product buffed but I am obsessed with chrome finish. I've visited lots of plating shops & they've told me that it is very hard to plate due to availability of holes in SS tubes & nickel solution will travel to chrome solutions as it is not possible to drain whole nickel solution put of the product despite several water rinses & carrying of nickel solution into chrome is too harmful for the chrome. Apart from that the plating people also have warned me of high peeling percentage as, according to them, chrome peels very easily off SS surface. So please guide me whether that is the case and it is too risky to chrome plate SS tube
Vijay Gupta- Delhi, India
December 8, 2015
A. Hi Vijay,
I probably agree with the platers you have contacted, there is always a chance of trapping solution and contaminating the chrome bath, but the greater risk with commercial plating is the risk of peeling chrome. Personally I think you'd be better off with a good electropolish to improve brightness and increase corrosion resistance of your stainless steel tube.
Aerospace - Yeovil, Somerset, UK
December 9, 2015
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