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-----Storing plated parts
hi. I make and sell fasteners for antique motorcycles. most of my customers request the parts be cadmium plated. I use an excellent plating shop in newark, nj. my problem is storing the parts after plating. I am left with small amounts of plated parts that I might have to store a year to sell. what is the best environment to store these cadmium and clear plated steel parts? sometimes I get spots and sometimes just a dulling after a few weeks. I even tried a large cooler with silica packs.
bob courboin- long valley New Jersey
1999
Help your plater to help you. Explain the problem you are experiencing. Make sure that the plater is applying a hexavalent chromate, not just a bright dip. (You are plating Cadmium, so you might as well go for broke on environmental destruction, and get the benefit of hexchrome).
Next time you send parts to the plater:
- Clean (as clean as the fasteners you are going to store) metal containers with tight fitting covers.
- The fasteners in your usual containers.
Ask your plater to process the parts normally, except give the parts one more rinse in clean water just before drying. Ask the plater to dry the parts until they are quite warm to the touch, changing the position of the parts in the basket several times during the drying cycle. You don't want to overheat the chromated parts, but your plater is familiar with that problem.
Ask the plater to put the processed parts into the clean containers. Moisture should not build up in the covered containers, but you might insert a silica pack after you get the parts back from the shop.
- Bring a dozen donuts and 4 regular coffees to the shop next time you deliver parts.
Tom Pullizzi
Falls Township, Pennsylvania
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