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Solution to Avoid FingerPrints developed on CRS

2002

Hi,

I work for a telcom company and we are having issues of sheet metal products (patch Panels) made of 16Gauge CRS. The issue is of Finger Prints that are developed on the patch panels over a period of time. The plating that we use is zinc clear, Now, Gold zinc which is clear zinc with a chromate chemical wash, can resolve this problem but we do not want a Gold color finish, we still want the appearance to be clear silver. We would love to switch the material to Stainless Steel but the cost of SS does not permit us to move in that direction. Can you guys suggest me an alternative which would be cheap and would yield the necessary results that I'm looking for?

Regards,

Ameet Kamat
- Watertown, Connecticut, USA

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Cotton gloves.Any finish will get fingerprints if handled by potatoe chip eating technicians. High Phosporous Electroless nickel has worked well as a finish on the parts you mentioned and is less expensive than stainless steel.Avoid medium phosphorous electroless nickel for this application as it can sometimes be prone to discoloration.

High Phosphorous electroless nickel is a barrier coating and does not deteriorate with age or handleing.Zinc plating is a sacrifical or galvanic coating and corrodes or deteriorates instead of the steel.

Todd Osmolski
- Charlotte, North Carolina, USA
2002