Letter 13007

Cyanide Zincate  

Does anyone plate electroless nickel on aluminum that uses a cyanide zincate? Who? Does cyanide zincate help with adhesion of the Nickel to the substrate?

Brandon Hellenbrand
Porex Technologies - Fairburn, GA, USA

To call it a cyanide zincate is probably a bit of an overstatement. A zincate or alloy zincate that contains a trace amount of cyanide would be a much fairer answer. When I was actively in plating, I never came across a plater that did not say that it had better adhesion. Harder to control and it does require special haz waste procedures for that tank and rinses. Not all that difficult. Very few platers use it because a normal double zincate will suffice for nearly all work.

James Watts
- FL

Yes cyanide zincate is used. I think there are non-cyanide zincates that have been developed. I don't know what process you use other than zincate and nitric acid to strip before copper strike/electroless nickel strike.

Bill Hemp
- Grand Rapids, MI, USA

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