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Seeking Adhesive Tape for Testing Plating Adhesion

Q. Hi,

I am interested in measuring the adhesion of my plating process. I would like to have various tapes with different adhesion strength to semi-quantify the adhesion of electroplated metal on substrate. I am looking for suppliers of such tape and application techniques that give good repeatability and reproducibility.

Thanks,

Tony Hurtado
- Lancaster, Pennsylvania, USA
2001

A. There are tapes for measuring adhesion of paint & powder coatings, Tony; see ASTM D3359. That might be a start, but for plating I think you don't need a range, you only need one grade--the strongest adhesion you can find -- because if you can pull the plating off with that, the adhesion is not even close to good enough. The goal in plating, although not always possible, is "perfect adhesion", i.e., any attempt to pull off the plating will result in ripping either the substrate or the plating (whichever is weaker).

Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
2001