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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Heef 25 RS
Q. I have read recently that you should not reverse etch in a Heef 25 RS bath. Is this true?
Curtis St. GermainChrome Plater - Prince George, BC, Canada
2007
Q. Hi,
I believe this is true.
But I will like to know the reason why we should not reverse etch the articles. Also if we do so what are the problems and can the problems be taken care of.
Regards,
- Rajkot, Gujarat, India
2007
A. When you reverse a part in the chrome tank, you are putting a fairly large amount of the parent metal alloy into the chrome tank. If you are doing short etches and are plating for very long times (12-24 hours) you probably can get by with the in tank reverse, especially if you are running a porous pot purifier in the tank. If not, it is better to have a reverse tank. A dumped chrome plating tank will work fine.
James Watts- Navarre, Florida
2007
A. Hi Vimal. When you read or heard about not reverse etching, I think the writer or speaker was referring to "don't reverse etch in the chrome plating tank itself" rather than suggesting that there is no need for reverse etching. Some chrome plating solutions, namely those with fluorides, can seriously damage parts if the current is reversed, so the suggestion is to maintain a separate tank of pure chromic acid for the reverse etching.
Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
October 2013
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