Sound technical content, curated with aloha by
Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Pine Beach, NJ
The authoritative public forum
for Metal Finishing since 1989
-----
Nickel & Chrome Plating Rusts in 8 Hours
Q. I'm doing nickel chrome decorative plating on MS material (Semi Bright, Bright, Mps, chrome activation followed by chrome plating).
I'm getting thickness around 22 microns nickel, and 0.3 chrome ... still we are observing rust in 8 hours; and the rusted area looks like a line all over the surface.
- India, Chennai.
December 13, 2024
A. Hi Dhanabal,
Those specs describe good quality nickel-chrome plating so you should not be having any rusting problem. Please send photos to mooney@finishing.com for posting here so we can better understand what you mean by "like a line all over the surface".
Is there a chance that this is a line of porosity due to hydrogen bubbles from too high surface tension in the nickel, combined perhaps with lack of air agitation in that area? Remove the rust and look for a line of bright hemispherical gas pits.
If not that, then scrub some sample parts with a pumice solution before putting them into the plating line, as a test against inadequate cleaning. But *good* photos would probably be a big help.
Luck & Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
A. Rust after nickel-chrome plate, analyze step test - bright Ni, bright nickel and microporous nickel, check powder concentration in microporous nickel tank.
Need nickel thickness 1.5 mil.
Popatbhai B. Patel
electroplating consultant - Roseville, Michigan
Q, A, or Comment on THIS thread -or- Start a NEW Thread