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Hard Chroming Stainless Steel
Hello,
Can anyone please advise if it is worth hard chroming a stainless steel valve stem (shaft). I have been told that hard chroming will provide lower coefficient of friction, harder wearing surface and less scale adhesion.
Is this true for stainless steel also or just for plain carbon steels?
Any advice would be appreciated
Thanks,
Paul Smithter
- Memphis, Tennessee
It's true but omits the additional advantage of freedom from galling.

Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
Ted is available for instant help
or longer-term assistance.
Why don't you have the stainless item electropolished? If it is a
300 series stainless, the resulting surface will be chromium-enriched after electropolish, and the smooth surface will reduce the coefficient of friction.
Dale Woika
Surface Conversion Sciences - Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, USA
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