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Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Pine Beach, NJ
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for Metal Finishing since 1989
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Best Plating for Mild Steel Hardware
Q. We are using Mild Steel small hardware (nut, bolt, clamp etc.) I want my hardware should rust proof at least for 10 years. Please suggest which type of plating to be done on these hardware.
Deepak Purusharthy- Udaipur, India
August 25, 2016
A. Hi Deepak. For small fasteners you would probably want to do what auto manufacturers do, perhaps 13 microns of zinc-nickel plating using top-quality brand name plating processes and chromate conversion plating afterward. Alternatives include mechanical plating and zinc-rich dip-spin coatings. For rather large hardware, hot-dip galvanizing may be practical. Whether the hardware actually lasts 10 years depends on the application and environment, of course.
One thing that catches my eye, though, is that you say "mild steel hardware", which usually means "cheap" -- and that requirement would be incompatible with the best plating.
If you want additional insights into the general question, you'll see dozens of threads about it on this site. For more specific answers you need a more specific question, i.e., the size and exact application and environment the fasteners will see. Good luck.
Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
August 2016
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