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Controlling a general metal bright dip bath

December 6, 2010

Presently I work in a gmf shop having come from the PCB fab world, I am not very familiar with an operation referred to as "bright dip". Here it is a home brew of water and 3 concentrated mineral acids. In a 5 gallon bucket, 1 1/2 gallons water, 1 gallon concentrated sulfuric, 1/2 gallon concentrated nitric, and about 3- - 50 mL hydrochloric acid are mixed. This is used to remove scale prior to plate from various base materials that have been heat treated. Historically, the bath is operator controlled with adds made when the product is not as desired and the adds are based on whether it "feels right" and the operator experience of course.

Is there a way to put some numbers to the component concentrations by wet methods or is total acidity all that can be determined?

Thank you

Bob Alper
plating shop employee - Beverly, Massachusetts, USA