Summary for food-safe plating for brass Discussion
Food-safe plating for a leaded brass espresso boiler is the core issue in this thread: the original poster wants to replate a 1970s brass boiler whose interior nickel plating is gone so lead will not leach into hot water. In the related question about chrome plating on brass serving bowls, Ted Mooney says that “food safe” is not rigidly defined, but notes that silver plating has been used for food and drink surfaces for millennia, nickel plating is traditional, tin plating has a long cookware history, and chrome plating has also been used around kitchens for decades. For the boiler application, Lyle Kirman gives the most direct recommendation: electroless nickel should be acceptable. The discussion does not present a formal certification standard, so the advice is practical rather than regulatory.
Need vintage espresso machine’s brass boiler replated food-safe
RFQ: I am refurbishing for my personal use a vintage espresso machine from the 1970s. It has a brass boiler (about 7″ x 6″ — smaller than a gallon paint can) whose interior nickel plating is gone. I would like to have the boiler replated with food-safe plating, so lead won’t leach out of the brass into the hot water.
Tim H [last name deleted for privacy by Editor]
hobbyist – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
2007
Ed. note: This RFQ is outdated, but technical replies are welcome, and readers are encouraged to post their own RFQs. But no public commercial suggestions please ( huh? why?).
Is chrome plating of brass food-safe?
Q. Hi,
This is Lalitha, Product design student. I would like to know if chrome plating on brass serving bowls is food safe. Is chromium plating the best option?
I’m working on my final year project – designing tableware products.
Sreelalitha kk
– Coimbatore, Tamilnadu, India
November 18, 2011
A. Hi, Lalitha,
Depending on what you are trying to do, silver plating might be best — silver has been used for food & drink surfaces for millennia. Nickel plating is a traditional finish. And tin plating of copper cookware has been a rural tradition for over a century (see thread 255/53, “Historical hand re-tinning of copper cooking utensils”).
I’m not sure that the colloquial term “food safe” is defined rigidly enough to give you a clear answer, but chrome plating has been used around the kitchen for many decades, and I have a chrome plated knife, chrome plated juicer, and several other things including a couple of pieces from an old copper-nickel-chrome plated steel flatware set. Good luck.
Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com – Pine Beach, New Jersey
Need quick confidential answers? $25
Need project assistance? $100/hr.
Coatings for brass for potable water use
Q. I need to prevent potable water coming in contact with a brass insert that will be over moulded. Chrome or nickel plating are not options. I only want to coat or plate the inside surface of the brass insert as the outside is covered after over moulding.
Neil Macintosh
Technical Consultant – Sydney, Australia
July 1, 2014
A. Hi Neil. You haven’t said why nickel plating is not an option; so, whatever is excluding it may exclude my other suggestions, but tin plating and silver plating are additional food-safe coatings. Teflon coating or porcelain coating may be other options.
Note that leaded brass may not be permissible even with a plating or coating. In the USA there are NSF standards regarding leaded brass. Best of luck.
Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com – Pine Beach, New Jersey
Need quick confidential answers? $25
Need project assistance? $100/hr.
A. Electroless nickel should be acceptable for this application.
Lyle Kirman
consultant – Cleveland Heights, Ohio