Letter 8062

Electroless Silver Plating on Stainless Steel 

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I want to electroless silver plate the inside of small (1-2mm) 316 stainless steel tubes. What I want to know is if there is a way to prepare the stainless steel surface without using a current.

Anna Schlunke
- Sydney, NSW, Australia

Hi,

A blend of nitric (40%) and Hydrofluoric (10%) will descale and activate stainless steels. A final dip in 20% HF will improve adhesion.

Guillermo Marrufo
Monterrey, NL, Mexico

Concerning letter# 8062, will the treatment of nitric acid and HF make the stainless steel magnetizable? In fact I want to put this silver plated stainless steel in a very strong magnetic field.

Kan-Nian Hu
- Cambridge, MA, USA

With regard to solutions of nitric and hydrofluoric acid - these are very corrosive and damaging to human tissue. Make sure that you wear the correct protective equipment and that you contain the acid mixture in a suitable container recommended by the acid manufacturers - resistant to both acids. Don't use glass. Hydrofluoric acid will eat its way through glass

Tom Crawshaw
- Grimsby, Lincolnshire, UK

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