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Help needed with identifying metal plating and process

May 7, 2009

Hi, I am a student working on a product teardown for a product design class. We are pulling apart a VS Sassoon Quietone 2000 hair dryer. The outer shell is marked as ABS, but it seems to be coated with a metallic plate. It looks like black chrome, but when scratched reveals a copper colour. It is thick enough to peel off... about the thickness of aluminum foil. How has this been manufactured? Do you think this is electroplated or is it plated through PVD?
Thanks!
Matt

Matthew Baker
University student - Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

Hi, Matthew. Good work. I don't have inside knowledge, and what you have detected so far is not really scientifically conclusive, but it's enough to hazard a guess that it's copper-nickel plating. Hard to say if it's actual black chrome on the outer layer on top of the copper and nickel layers.

The sequence is probably approximately: etch the ABS for tooth, dip in palladium chloride, dip in tin chloride, electroless nickel plate, copper electroplate, nickel plate, black chrome plate. Good luck.

Regards,

Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
May 8, 2009