Chrome vs. Nickel plating of keychains

I currently source a small volume of keychains (2K/month)to be chrome plated in China. They are having a 80% failure rate chrome plating my parts due to the small size (1.2" X 1.2" X .5") and very high level of detail. It is made of investment molded zinc. They have suggested that nickel plating would work better for the application.

I don't know a lot about different plating processes, but do have some questions. 1.) Will a bright nickel plating come close to the shine of chrome plating? 2.) Will the nickel plating rust faster? 3.) Being a keychain, will the nickel wear faster with rough handling and abuse? I'd appreciate your thoughts.

Thanks,

I don't know that I'd accept the advice of someone who experiences an 80 percent failure rate :-)

My feeling is that bright nickel plating might be okay for these keychains. Even better might be bright acid zinc plating followed by a clear lacquer.

But, no matter which way, I'll don't believe in going direct from idea to production with no prototyping and testing. Who is absorbing the cost of this 80% failure, what is it that is bad about 80% of the parts, and what assurance do you have that the 20% will not come back from dissatisfied customers?

Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey

The difference between nickel plating and chrome is that nickel will seal metal and chrome has microcracking and will rust the metal if not nickel plated first.
I want to say thank you for all the information here. I am a master polisher - having over 15 years experience and 30 years plating experience. I am installing a bluing line and have been experimenting in nickel plating designs on barrels and then bluing over the top.