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-- Answers to Every Finishing Question!

Painting, plating, powder coating, PVD, anodizing, bluing, galvanizing; hobbyists and pros alike get their questions answered and share their tips.
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60,000 older but still active topics, even stuff from our electronic BBS pre-internet days.

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Electroplating: How It Works - Anodizing of Aluminum - Chrome Plating - Rhodium Plating & White Gold Jewelry
Silver Plating at Home - Student Science Project: What Cleans Pennies Best - other FAQs

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What is "Finishing" or "Metal Finishing"?

Finishing is vital to a sustainable future!

Countless billions of $$ of our modern world simply rusts away each year -- necessitating endless re-mining of ores, smelting processes, rolling/casting, fabrication of replacements, assembly, waste of packaging materials, selling, and ultimately landfilling, with transportation cost & energy between each step. Why? Because things are lasting 2 or 3 years when they should last 2 or 3 decades!

Corrosion can be controlled by anodizing, electroplating, galvanizing, and powder coating

And it's not just the money: it's the environmental consequences, the loss of functionality, the injuries, the ugliness, the heirlooms lost, the land wasted on landfills, the accidents in transport.

Finishing is about creating a surface/skin with the properties you need

Finishing is not only corrosion protection, it's low friction for energy efficiency; low electrical resistance to enable complex electronics; resistance to microbial contamination which spreads disease; high wear resistance so things last longer and need fewer repairs; cleanable surfaces for hygiene; artful appearance ... and more.

And on a lighter note ... When Chrome Was King:

1958 Buick - The most chrome plating of any car ever :-)

courtesy of CharlesPhoenix.com

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