The authoritative public forum
  for Metal Finishing since 1989
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Treating Brass

We are working with Zirconia Ceramic that is very high purity. Our application demands that it remain so through out the process. In the past we have either used stainless steel or anodized aluminum for applications that come in contact with our parts. Because of a change in the part design we are looking for a very thin tube to interact with the part. We have found a Brass tube that would work very well with our process and would like to go ahead with it but the issue of contamination has been raised by management. We are using 99% IPA as a primary cleaning agent. Our primary concern is that with exposure to IPA and our normal cleanroom (class 10,000) environment the brass could oxidize and chemically damage the parts. Is there a thin finish that can be applied to the brass (if necessary) so that it acts similar to anodized aluminum? If there are any specific questions please feel free to ask. I will tell what I can.

Andrew Urban
- Buffalo, New York
2006

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2006

THE BEST FINISH TO APPLY OVER BRASS IS LACQUER.
MIX LACQUER AND lacquer thinner ⇦this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] Warning! highly flammable! 50-50.
YOU WOULD PREFERABLY USE AN OUTDOOR LACQUER FOR DURABILITY
WITH YOUR PROCESS.
THE BEST LACQUER I HAVE FOUND IS EGYPTIAN LACQUER COATING-
OUTDOOR TYPE OR G.J. Nikolas [a finishing.com supporting advertiser]--OUTDOOR TYPE; ONE TYPE IS
EVEN MORE DURABLE TO BE USED AROUND WATER FOUNTAINS-THEY
CAN ADVISE YOU WHICH PRODUCT.

ELAINE WILSON
BRASS RESTORATION - SAVANNAH, Georgia, USA

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Andrew,

Are using any plating on brass component. If no than do the tin plating over nickel to avoid the oxidation of brass component.

Bahadur singh Rathore
- Jaipur, Rajastahn, India
2006

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Since you are using iso-propyl alcohol (IPA) as a cleaning agent, it will remove the lacquer and other similar finishes.

Tin coating with an underlayer of nickel is a recommended coating for brass in electrical connector contacts. However, the tin coating is very soft. If anodized aluminum suits well for your process, they it could be due to the hardness of the anodic oxide coating. I am not sure whether electroless nickel (hard and wear resistant) will be suitable for your application.

If you would like to maintain a very high purity of your zirconia ceramic then use of any metallic components/metallic coatings in your process is not desirable.

T.S.N. Sankara Narayanan
- Chennai, Tamilnadu, India
(ed.note: The good doctor offers a fascinating blog, "Advancement in Science" )
2006

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2006

Hi Andrew,

If Stainless Steel is already bieng used by you in some applications, I don't see why a Coat of Nickel Plating applied directly over brass will not help. Nickel will also resist the high temperatures that you encounter. An experiment will help you decide.

Khozem Vahaanwala
Saify Ind

Bengaluru, Karnataka, India