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Prevent rust on silicon iron parts in transit to EN plating shop

Does anyone know the best way to prepare and package small silicon iron components so that they do not rust on the way to be Electroless Nickel plated. I've heard of vegetable oil based cutting fluid. Whatever the solution, it would need to be safe for the EN bath. Rust is a big issue here and I need to close in on it to prevent the pitting that occurs after plating from the rust.

Gary Petrillo
Manufacturing Engineering - Wallingford, Connecticut, USA
2004

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That is something that you need to discuss with your plater, IE: what type of oil can he remove. A plating shop worth its salt will have a rust removing electrocleaner in house. If it is only flash rust, it is no problem. If it is deep rust, then you need preventative measures such as a light oil. Another shot might be to put the parts in a 220F oven long enough to warm up and then cool to say 90F , put them in a sealable plastic bag, run a slow flow of nitrogen long enough to displace any moisture and all of the oxygen and seal the bag. If this does not stop the rust, you have a big problem.

Finally, you probably need to talk to another plater to get their take on the problem. You can pay a tiny bit more for a better plater if it gets rid of the quality issue caused by rust. There are at least 2 high quality EN shops in the greater Hartford area.

James Watts
- Navarre, Florida
2004