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Q&As since 1989


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Is it possible to plate stainless steel onto carbon steel?

With the price of Stainless (i.e., the Nickel content) going through the roof, I was wondering if it is possible to plate Stainless Steel (300 grade) over low-carbon steel?

Michael Moffa
Manufacturer - Chicago, Illinois, USA
2007

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No, Michael, it is not possible (except as a lab curiousity) to deposit stainless steel by electroplating. However, clad stainless steel is available. The manufacturers bond various grades of steel and/or stainless steel then roll it down to desired thickness. It is widely used in such things as large industrial exhaust stacks. With a large enough order you can probably get exactly what you would ideally like; otherwise you can settle for something close.

With the huge upheaval in the domestic steel industry in the last decade or so, I've lost track of company names and ownerships, but Lukens Steel in Coatesville, PA built an installation for this maybe 15 years ago.

Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
2007

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Michael,
You cannot electrodeposit stainless steel in the conventional sense. However, you can deposit a metallic mixture that has virtually the same metallic ratios as stainless steels, although it does not have the chemical and corrosion resistance characteristics. The difference comes in the formation of various carbides that are made during the heating of the metallic mix that becomes stainless steel; unfortunately these carbides are not formed during electrodeposition.

Trevor Crichton
R&D practical scientist
Chesham, Bucks, UK
2007