Metal finishing Q&As since 1989

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Is my plater ripping me off?

Hello, I am a jewelry designer who gets my components plated in gold. I was given a guarantee that the plating would last for a year without wearing off. I have had a lot of people returning my designs and a lot of clients not re-ordering due to this problem.I have a feeling that the plater that I have been using is taking advantage of the little knowledge I have and is telling me that it is my fault as I have been sending him products with a steel base.He blames the steel for making the components corrode. When I told him that I was told that he should be able to plate steel without any problems, he changed his story and said that he couldn't plate steel that has a nickel coating.This all sounds a bit unbelievable to me and he seems as if he is just trying to cover up his bodgy work. Can you tell me if his points are valid?

name deleted at employer request
jewelry - Melbourne, Australia
2005

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There is a big difference between corrosion and the gold wearing off. From what little information you shared, the plater isn't putting enough gold on for your application. Our decorative gold plate is a flash of gold over a bright nickel plate. When the gold wears off is it still shiny underneath? That could be insufficient gold thickness for your application. If you are getting plating peeling down to the steel, that could be corrosion or a cleaning problem, etc... A plater can have problems plating over nickel if the nickel goes passive (it will if it sits around long enough), but there are proprietary processes to overcome that also. You probably should have specified a specific amount of gold thickness in your contract to begin with. The process we use (mentioned above) would probably show the same wear characteristics as the stuff you are getting done. It works well just looking at it, but abrasion resistance will be limited.

Trent Kaufman
electroplater - Galva, Illinois
2005