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Zinc plating heat treated steel

We are plating heat treated 1045 steel parts in a cyanide zinc barrel line. The problem is these parts take 3-4 hours @ 20 -30 ASF to plate and then the appearance is dull. We tried increasing sodium hydroxide to 12 oz/gal with no luck. Our untreated steel parts plate @ 10 ASF for 45 minutes and appearance is acceptable.

Michael James Stauffer
- Meridian, ID, USA
2006

Hello, Michael. The problem is probably fundamental rather than something you can control. Cyanide zinc plating suffers from a problem related to hydrogen overvoltage such that if the surface is high carbon, you can't easily get zinc to deposit on it. People have probably urged you to get away from cyanide zinc plating -- it is becoming a rarity because of safety concerns. Now you have an additional reason to switch to acid zinc (good for heat treated parts) or alkaline non-cyanide. Good luck.

Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
Need quick confidential answers? $25
Need project assistance? $100/hr.
2006

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