Zinc Coating Rubber Sections: Smart, Safe Plating Advice

Summary for zinc coating rubber sections Discussion

Zinc coating rubber sections is the key concern in this thread about plating custom power steering hoses with old hardpipes and replaced rubber lengths. Boris Siljanoski asked whether the acid used in electroplating, which he believed might be a 10% hydrochloric acid solution, would damage the rubber if the assembled hoses were plated. The plater told him it “won’t hurt it,” but he wanted a second opinion. The reply agreed that the plating process probably would not harm the rubberized plastics used in the hoses, but cautioned that plating fully assembled hoses is not the ideal approach. The answer pointed out practical problems such as needing the entire assembly to be perfectly clean rather than just the fittings, and increased drag-out of chemicals from tank to tank. The overall advice was that the rubber may survive, but the process is awkward and less desirable than plating only the metal parts.