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Blackening Nickel Plated Items

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Q. I have some nickel plated items I would like to blacken. Any suggestions. I know nickel is pretty resistant to oxidation.

Steve Krevek
plating - Bismarck, North Dakota, USA
2006

A. Immersion in 50% nitric acid, warm (say 120 °F) for 10-20 seconds will blacken nickel.

Jeffrey Holmes, CEF
Spartanburg, South Carolina
2006

A. Oil it very very sparingly with linseed oil [affil links] (or any other edible oil or fat), then heat it slowly to 400 °C. Repeat if needed. Instead of oil you can use 20% shellac solution.Good luck!

Goran Budija
- Cerovski vrh Croatia
2006

Q. I currently procure a cable strain relief that is made from nickel plated brass. I am required to blacken this part. Does anyone know of a good process for this. I was told that I should try black zinc coat, but this might oxidize quickly as this part will be mostly used outdoors.

carlos santos
- Billerica, Massachusetts
August 23, 2018

A. Hi Carlos. I think the most robust solution would probably be either black chrome plating or black electroless nickel plating.

You will be plating onto articles which have weeks-old or years-old nickel plating on them, which will be very passive. You can try activating it with a Wood's Nickel Strike before plating ... but definitely run samples before committing to the process. Good luck.

Regards,

Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
August 2018

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