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Effective electro chemical etching process for nickel forming on ss substrate

2006

Dear Sir,

I am interested to know any effective ELECTRO CHEMICAL ETCHING PROCESS available. This is required for applying to stainless steel components before nickel electro forming on the components.This electro chemical etching method is required to produce a sound metallic bond between s.s substrate and nickel electro formed coating.At the same time the etching chemical should not damage the substrate severely. Only amild chemical damage on s.s substrate can be tolerated.I will thankfl, if some useful information on this with name of the chemical and its strength and process parameters viz. TEMPERATURE AND CURRENT DENSITY etc. can be furnished to me.

Thanking You,

S.NAGARAJAN
- MUMBAI, INDIA

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I don't think you should be looking for an etching process, Mr. Nagarajan, but a Wood's Nickel Strike (or maybe a sulfamate nickel strike) . The reason that the nickel electroforming solution doesn't bond to the stainless steel is because of a rapidly formed oxide skin on the stainless, and it will reform almost instantaneously after an etching process. The highly acidic, inefficient, Wood's Nickel solution can simultaneously dissolve that oxide and plate a thin layer of nickel on it.

Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
2006

Did you mean electroforming or electroplating, Mr. Nagarajan? If you're trying to do nickel electroforming, you should not be looking for a strong bond, but one that allows further separation.

Guillermo Marrufo
Monterrey, NL, Mexico
2006