Metal finishing Q&As since 1989
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Nickel-chrome Reflector 'fades' in a year
Q. Hello Experts,
I am Vinuth an quality guy working in medical stream. Our machine have a set of reflectors (3) made of SS -- two in parabola shape one of semi-spherical shape. My problem is coating the reflector. We currently use Ni-Cr plating which fades in less than a year whereas our machine life is 10 years.
When buffing the material gets streaks on the surface. We had tried gold plating too, we found somewhat better, though still problem resides. Kindly say some suitable process.
Vinuth kumarProduct Designer - India
November 27, 2009
A. Hi Vinuth. If the reflectance parameters of nickel-chrome plating meet your needs, then the best path forward is probably to fix the preparation and nickel-chrome plating to make it satisfactory. Truck bumpers and even automobile grills take the worst the world can throw at them and easily last more than 10 years. If yours fades in a year in a controlled environment, it sounds like you're not doing it right. Find any automotive spec for nickel-chrome exterior plating and follow it in-house, or send sample parts to an automobile-qualified plating shop.
There would seem to be no good reason your customer cannot remove dust or whatever without damaging the plating considering all the world's cars & trucks. Chrome is more abrasion resistant than gold.
If you want to change the design there are dozens of alternatives from using anodized aluminum reflectors, to plastic reflectors, to silvered quartz, etc. You can search the site for nearly countless threads on these alternatives, or give us more exacting requirements and readers can help you quickly sort through the possibilities. Good luck.
Luck & Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
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