HOME FAQs BOOKS JOBS: Help Wanted Suggestions you are here: Hotline/Forum => Letter 16039

Plating aluminium tubing to allow soldering

Dear sir,

We want to solder aluminium (heat exchangers), but we can't. According to experts, we must electroplate it first with copper. We try to plating it with copper but not success, please explain the process, and also what is the pre treatment for the aluminium (zincate ? = zinc sulphate?).

Hartono Hadiprojo
steel - Cilegon, Babten, Indonesia

Yes, you need to zincate the aluminum before you cyanide copper plate it. In fact, you should "double zincate" it (zincate it, strip the zincate in nitric acid, zincate it again). But zincate is not zinc sulphate, it is zinc dissolved in caustic soda and stabilizers. You should either buy a proprietary zincate or research the subject via a compterized lit search. Good luck.

Ted Mooney, P.E.
finishing.com
Brick, New Jersey

ANSWER or FOLLOW UP POST an unrelated QUESTION HOT Topics

Disclaimer: It is not possible to diagnose a finishing problem or the hazards of an operation via these pages. All information
presented is for general reference and does not represent a professional opinion nor the policy of an author's employer. The
internet is largely anonymous; some names may be fictitious and some recommendations may be deliberately harmful.

If you are seeking a product or service related to metal finishing, please check these Directories: