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Comparing bright nickel plating to electroless nickel plating [Oregon] 

August 9, 2007

I would like to know the advantage or disadvantage of bright nickel vrs. electroless nickel including corrosion resistance, hardness,durability,ductility, and any other characteristics. In researching the two it appears that electroless nickel seems to exceed the performance of bright nickel in most areas, so curious why bright nickel would be used over electroless.

Glenn Hayter
Manager of a manufacturing company - Hillsboro, Oregon, USA

This is one of those perennial questions, Glenn, so if you can afford the time to patiently search the site, you'll see some additional insights. But to keep it quick: electroless nickel is far more expensive than nickel, and is not as decorative for aesthetic applications. It is also not as satisfactory as duplex electroplated nickel as an undercoating for chrome plating. Because it is actually an alloy of nickel and phosphorous, it can be a little trickier to get the alloy exactly how you want it. But after you concede those points, you are correct that electroless nickel surpasses electroplated nickel as a coating material because it is more corrosion resistant, harder, the alloy can be tailored to specific needs, and -- often the most important point of all -- electroless nickel deposits at a remarkably even thickness whereas the thickness of electroplated nickel may vary dramatically across the surface of a part. More input welcomed.

Ted Mooney, P.E.  finishing.com Brick, NJ