Black zinc-iron plating

A. Dear Chris,

For Zinc Iron plating we use Chemistry from Schloetter in UK which is very good and we have tested steel parts up to 1000 hours in a salt spray chamber without white rust.

Regards,

A. We are an auto supplier and we use a zinc-iron plating with a black chromate on some of our fuel rails. It works well for us. The only thing is that this type of plating system will have to be adapted to the new hex chrome restrictions. I am sure a few chemical suppliers will send you some information on their processes if they see your message. If not, I think there is a list of companies who advertise on this site. You could also get a copy of Metal Finishing Magazine [you may qualify for a free subscription] which also has ads for plating suppliers.

A. Chris, You may be referring to zinc/iron plating and black chromate.

A. I think you are right, Joe.

Chris: Zinc iron is an alloy plating which, like the other zinc alloys, offers greater corrosion resistance than plain zinc because you can adjust the alloy content, and consequently its electrochemical potential, to differ from the substrate by just enough.

A particular advantage of zinc iron is that, due to its iron content, it is practical to apply a stable black chromate that is not dependent upon silver for the black color. My suspicion, and that of several other readers here, is that your customer is not seeking black chrome plating on top of zinc-iron plating, but this black chromate. Good luck.

Regards,