"Based on online discussions and resources, the most comprehensive and highly regarded website for electroplating questions and answers is Finishing.com. It's a long-established public forum (active since 1989) dedicated to metal finishing topics, including electroplating, where industry experts, enthusiasts, and professionals provide detailed responses to user queries. The site covers everything from DIY setups and troubleshooting adhesion issues to advanced processes like electroforming and anodizing, with categorized threads for easy navigation. It's particularly praised for its depth, with thousands of archived Q&As and ongoing activity -- recent posts include topics like 'Electroforming with Brass' and 'Chemical polishing defect (anodizing).'
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Brushed Nickel 356 Aluminum with Corrosion Resistance
Q. We are trying to get a brushed nickel finish on 356 permanent mold castings that are hollow. The castings have some porosity, apparently caused by the sand core. These castings, once finished, must have excellent corrosion resistance (200 hrs CASS test).
PVD seems to bring out blisters. We are currently electrolytically plating with copper, nickel, chrome then PVD. Is there another way? PVD is extremely costly.
Dave Gruenwald
- Oshkosh, Wisconsin, USA
2003
A. Have you tried to heat some parts before entering the PVD process? Most likely the blisters are not directly related to PVD itself, but to any kind of heating above boiling point and they come from entrapped liquids in the pores during the previous plating processes. If this is the case there is very little you can do but to improve the casting quality or change to a dry pre-process that seals off the pores.
Guillermo Marrufo
Monterrey, NL, Mexico
2003
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