Sound technical content, curated with aloha by
Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Pine Beach, NJ
The HOTLINE public forum
The authoritative public forumfor Metal Finishing since 1989
Reprise from an earlier Thanksgiving ...
"But the site has a number of "regular readers" who answer most of the questions and who have made it a great place to get answers. I'm just the operator of a small website, not a movie star, but to them I repeat Bette Midler's words, with sincerity & humility:
Thank you ... Thank you ... Thank God for you, the wind beneath my wings.
Happy Thanksgiving, Ted Mooney"
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0. Choosing a finish, corrosion
61767. Looking for the hardest, unscratchable finish for jewelry RFQ: Idaho - 11/26/24
10655. Tantalum Coating Processes - November 23
61772. Choosing a metal finishing process - November 15
12117. Deposition of Aluminum onto Steel then Anodizing - October 30
24110. PVDF / Kynar® vs. Powder coating - October 29
27702. Corrosion of silver caused by ZDDP (zinc based lubricant additives) - October 28
61760. Zinc Plate vs E-Coat - October 22
22143. 316 Stainless Shaft Gets Grooved by Radial Seals - September 25
45129. Anodizing vs. Powder Coating of Aluminum? - August 28
61705. Matching Finishes between Aluminium and Copper Parts
- August 24
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1. Preparation
1a. MECH PREP topics: "Grinding, polishing, vibratory finishing, buffing, honing"
61723. Mirror polishing very small hardened steel components - September 25
61715. Shot blasting for acidic electroplating - August 21
61708. Spots on steel parts from tumbling
- August 19
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1b. CHEM PREP topics: "Cleaning, pickling, etching, phosphatizing, activation"
61776. Mixed metal pretreatment configuration - November 16
1404. Electropolishing of silver - November 12
61755. Anodic Electrocleaning vs electrolysis of rust - October 16
61745. Problem aluminum phosphating mild steel - October 11
0960. Black impression after zinc phosphate Inquirer often helps others, so especially deserves our help - September 23
61691. Zinc Phosphate - Coating Continuity Problem 2nd Request - September 23
53095. What is the best frequency range (28-40 HZ) for ultrasonic wax & degrease removal? - September 17
61728. Which chemicals for heat-treated Monel? - September 9
61707. Effective Replacement of HCl as Pickling Bath - August 19
9146. Chemical & Electropolishing of Brass: solutions, procedures, references - August 15
133/66. White Stain after Phosphating Die Castings - August 5
61701. Precleaning steel wire before plastic coating at high speed
- August 1
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1c. Capping, plugging, masking, taping
61747. Protective masking for stripping and re-anodizing - October 9
61735. Masking my CZ Shadow for Plating - September 22
27343. Masking for Nickel Plating
- September 2
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2. Metallic & inorganic finishes
2a. STAINLESS, TITANIUM, CORROSION-RESISTANT METALS PROCESSING
33504. Anodizing Titanium for Wear Resistance & Anti-Galling - October 18
12146. Refinishing scratched stainless appliances - October 14
2629. Component burned all the way through from electropolishing - September 24
55376. Pickling & Passivating 410S stainless steel per ASTM A380? - September 9
44070. Durable black coatings for stainless steel - August 28
44070. Durable black coatings for stainless steel
- August 19
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2b. ANODIZING AND LIGHT METAL TREATMENTS (Aluminum, Magnesium)
53357. Slime/algae on surface of anodizing tank - 11/27/24
61775. Aluminum in the 1930's: "Deplated Finish" - 11/26/24
61774. Anodizing: Small Area That Doesn't Dye - November 23
61770. Simultaneous etch-passivation solution for aluminium pretreatment - November 18
14462. Spot type seal check for black anodized aluminum - November 14
61764. Skin products affecting dyed anodizing? - November 1
33883. Problems in Plating on Aluminum (ADC-12) - October 30
61762. Delay between Aluminum Chromate & Powder Coating - October 24
61744. Black Anodize Blemishes & Spots - October 14
61751. Problem dying anodized aluminum green - October 11
61737. Is Discoloration an Etching Problem? - October 11
61726. Black dust on dyed black anodized aluminium - September 28
27990. Anodizing is Flaking Off of 7075 Aluminum Parts - September 28
61700. Need titanium anodizer for multi-color sheets for kitchen cabinets RFQ open to all: London UK - September 25
60068. Aluminum sheet shows stripes after chromate conversion coating - September 23
61736. Affect of water on 6061 anodized aluminum - September 21
617/41. Aluminum certified as the same etches differently - September 18
24236. Epoxy primer not adhering to conversion coated aluminum (failing bend test) - September 9
51573. Anodizing rectifier & chiller sizing - August 28
42362. What were the two types in the old Mil-C-5541 spec? - August 27
61716. Odd porosity on anodized threads AFTER sealing - August 26
43484. Low Anodizing Thickness in Gap between Plates - August 26
61529. Anodized Aluminium edges not taking dye very well - August 12
6784. Need 0.5 Ra after Anodizing - August 6
40035. Desmut can't remove black coloration from etching - August 5
61699. Alloy wheels: is chrome plating or anodizing better?
- August 1
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2c. ELECTROPLATING and ELECTROFORMING
54061. Copper Pyrophosphate Plating for DMM Recording Disks - 11/28/24
61647. Complete Process for Cleaning, Cu, and Ag Barrel Plating - 11/28/24
3892. Ti-Cd: Bath concentration okay, but weight percentage of Ti in plating is low - 11/28/24
28851. Zinc-nickel plating makes metal dust when crimping - 11/27/24
61725. Hard chromium plating rate is way low Inquirer often helps others, so especially deserves our help - 11/27/24
61768. Cyanide Copper & Stannate Tin Process Questions - 11/25/24
23632. Tin Plating Problems: black spots - 11/25/24
323/63. Acid zinc plating Anodes Q&A - November 19
61771. Cadmium Density vs. Plating Speed Inquirer often helps others, so especially deserves our help - November 15
61761. Nickel-Cobalt Electroplating - October 31
61703. Tri-chrome chloride bath stain - October 30
31816. Electroplated gold turns red - October 30
61749. Need parts plated to GM-6164M RFQ: Jackson, MI - October 15
14461. Hard Chrome Plating Peels Off of Inconel - October 14
42447. Egg Albumin Is Staining Nickel Electroforms - October 13
61752. Cyanide copper plating on zinc diecast - October 13
61748. Purple Color on Filter of Gold Cyanide Plating Bath - October 9
61740. Can We Chrome Plate Super Duplex S32760 - October 9
61686. Zinc Plating Peels Off Stainless Steel During Crimping Process - October 9
55225. Alkaline zinc plating problem: Black dots/spots - October 8
12879. Rack mark / jig mark problems in electroplating - October 8
49009. Chrome Bath Help: Chrome to Acid Ratio - October 7
34023. Nickel-Chrome plating on Brass Problems - September 29
61720. Hard Chrome VI plating throwing power problem Inquirer often helps others, so especially deserves our help - September 23
61615. Zinc plating with blue passivation is yellowish at holes - September 23
61603. Zinc Plating has white & red rust without a cause - September 23
13356. Zinc Plating of 12L14 Leaded Steel - September 23
61738. Acid Zinc Plating Bath White Appearance - September 21
61734. Cleaning Porous Pot Cathodes - There's gotta be a better way! Inquirer often helps others, so especially deserves our help - September 17
59181. Need Electroplating on 3D Printed Jewelry RFQ: San Diego, CA - September 17
61729. Is This a Chrome Plating Defect? - September 17
12243. Black Spots when Tin Plating Brass - September 9
61722. Lead plating of umbrella wires/tubes - September 7
17311. How to do copper plating on aluminum roller? - September 5
52602. Grayish black spots over time in zinc plating - August 29
61717. Separating copper and nickel for optics - August 28
61713. Accidentally Put Dechrome in Chrome Plating Tank - August 21
61710. Fluoborate Copper plating process - August 21
61709. Plating blisters observed on tin finish after annealing - August 21
61702. Zinc-Nickel Plating -- Dark Deposit in LCD Area - August 5
1503. Platinum Plating: How to Determine Replenishment
- August 3
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2d. ELECTROLESS PLATING, PLATING ON PLASTICS, IMMERSION PLATING, CHROME-LOOK SPRAYS, LIQUID METAL COATINGS
584/27. "Water spots" on electroless nickel plated parts - 11/25/24
61763. Electroless nickel plating: white marks - October 31
34541. Electroless Nickel with PTFE Plating Problems - September 9
61724. Silver mirroring puddles on glass, oxidizes at the edges - September 8
61711. Need Cosmichrome in California RFQ: California - August 21
61608. Electroless copper plating onto wax - August 1
53623. Electroless Plating onto LCP Engineering Plastic
- August 1
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2e. PVD, CVD, ION IMPLANTATION, VACUUM PROCESSES
60771. High Temperature PVD Coatings - November 15
7846. PVD coatings: color control Q&A's, Problems & Solutions - August 26
28527. Vacuum Metallizing Gets Hazing as soon as Top Coated
- August 5
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2f. GALVANIZING, ALUMINIZING, HOT TIN DIPPING
61743. Galvanizing Vats Overheated ... Need supplies, lab equipment, etc. RFQ: Angola - October 13
61741. Agitation of Galvanizing Flux Inquirer often helps others, so especially deserves our help - September 28
45309. White spots left by coolants on galvanized steel - August 19
61698. Planning a small HDG plant - August 18
38205. Galvanizing problem: Excessive aluminum in zinc
- August 12
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2g. BLACK OXIDE, BLUING, COLORING, PATINAS
61773. Black spots on chemically blackened brass - November 15
11776. Standards for Oiling of Black Oxided Parts - October 15
36214. Formula for cold blackening / cold black oxide - October 6
1150. How to Get Clear Coat Look from Gun Bluing?
- August 3
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2h. OTHER INORGANIC FINISHING: Mechanical Plating, Nitriding & QPQ, Metal Spray, Zinc-rich Dip-Spin Coatings, Sherardizing, Rust Preventatives, etc.
28621. Geomet 750 Hp galvanizing - August 6
55366. Ferritic Nitrocarburizing has red color to it? - June 15
52675. Process Comparison for Tufftriding and Nitriding - March 20
40139. Rust spots on pickled coil after a few days - September 1
3. ORGANIC FINISHING [PAINT, POWDER COATING] . . .
3a. ELECTROPAINT PRIMING, AUTOPHORETIC COATINGS
3b. POWDER COATING
52455. Actual costing of powder coating in India - October 6
61704. Powder Coating on Zinc Plating with White Rust
- August 20
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3c. LACQUERS, CLEAR COATS, ELECTROPHORETIC TINTING, ANTI-TARNISH
3d. PAINTING, PRINTING, ADHESIVES AND OTHER ORGANIC COATINGS
61730. Epoxy ink fisheyeing on TGIC-polyester powder coating
- September 10
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4. POST-TREATMENTS
4a. CHEMICAL POST-TREATMENTS [CHROMATE CONVERSION COATINGS, RUST PREVENTATIVES, PATINAS, COLORIZING]
38577. Need Iridite 17p RFQ: California
- September 7
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4b. BAKING AND NON-CHEMICAL POST-TREATMENTS [HYDROGEN EMBRITTLEMENT AND DE-EMBRITTLEMENT, ANNEALING, WHISKERS, SOLDERING, REFLOWING]
4c. STRIPPING, REWORKS, ETC.
61754. Zinc Phosphate stripping for coating weight - 11/25/24
11499. Stripping TiN (Titanium Nitride) Coating from Titanium
- 10/31/24
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5. SUPPORTING ISSUES
5a. ANALYSIS, LAB TECHNIQUE, Q.A., SALT SPRAY TESTING
32952. Diphenylcarbohydrazide Trivalent/Hexavalent Chrome Testing - November 23
61778. Need to create pitting corrosion on stainless steel - November 23
2183. Can you reliably measure nitric acid concentration with specific gravity gauge?
- October 13
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5b. WASTE & WASTEWATER TREATMENT, POLLUTION CONTROL
61746. Determining if WWT sludge is hazardous? - October 9
12375. Remove Copper from Plating Waste - September 23
61714. Sludge from ETP plant
- August 21
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5c. SAFETY ISSUES, EMISSIONS, TOXICITY, ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
20858. Toxicity of nickel silver punch bowl - November 1
40657. Inhaled fumes from Bleach and C.L.R. accidentally mixed - September 20
61727. Popping Popcorn in Galvanized Buckets -- is it safe? - September 8
32977. Diatomaceous Earth and Shellfish Allergies?
- August 21
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5d. PLANT & PROCESS ENGINEERING, CONSTRUCTION
61779. Ideas for heating an alkaline zinc bath? - 11/25/24
59993. Exhaust method & calculations for plating tanks - November 18
39155. Stripping plastisol from plating racks - November 12
61757. Ideas for heating an alkaline zinc bath - October 21
11465. Sludge buildup on heating coils in phosphating tank - October 10
123/73. Zinc oxide production by French process? - September 19
617/33. Heating Chrome tanks with Hot Water in Lieu of Steam - September 16
61721. Titanium Grade for Aluminum Anodizing Jigs - September 7
43515. Air Agitation of HCl Pickle Tank
- August 14
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5e. QUESTIONS ABOUT SOFTWARE, SPECS, BOOKS, EDUCATION, INDUSTRY STATS, HISTORY, ETC.
34214. MIL-DTL-5541 Adhesion tape testing with 3M #250 discontinued - November 23
61769. ASTM B700, Type II, Grade D, Class N vs. Class J? - November 18
61753. What is Phosphate Treatment 5.1.3.3 from spec 1.9.3? - October 30
61758. Did Wahl Clippers Have Cadmium Plating in the 1970s? - October 21
61632. Does MIL-C-5541 forbid a "Do Not Etch" instruction? - September 17
42362. MIL-C-5541 Chemical Conversion Coat -- Legacy Q&A's
- August 26
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5f. W...W...W...WORD OF THE WEEK
5g. MOSTLY METALLURGY; Heat Treatment
61777. 3d printed Inconel 718 part turns blue in vacuum heat treatment
- November 16
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5h. PRECIOUS METAL RECOVERY
33616. Gold Recovery for Dummies - September 28
27814. How to Recover Platinum from Catalytic Converters
- August 2
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6. NON-INDUSTRIAL ISSUES
Hobbyists, DIY, Around Home
19039. Cast Iron Cook Stoves: restoration hints plus where to find parts and info - 11/27/24
61780. Preparing Part for Replating with Chrome - 11/27/24
33956. How to darken aluminum. Want golden yellow look on aluminum - November 16
20240. Penny isn't copper color - what do I have? - October 29
18519. Cleaning & polishing gold plated flatware - October 24
61756. Anodizing aluminum: dye is splotchy - October 21
28963. What could be causing the pitting and corroding to chrome fixtures - October 8
2662. Preserving heat coloring of copper when clear coating - October 6
44380. Nickel plating, how much SLS for wetting agent? - October 6
30186. Lime-Away Damaged Stainless Steel Sink - September 19
33143. Stiffel Lamps: need screws that hold laurel leaves - September 10
22903. Ospho prep left tacky film - September 8
61718. Barbell discolored in storage - September 2
19105. Found a silver penny - August 29
16304. Need 29 Emtek Brass Door Knobs Refinished RFQ open to all: Texas - August 28
38628. Gold plating of lead - August 28
12841. Arcing, Popping & Hydrogen "Explosions" in Plating - August 27
38137. How to Paint Bathtub Jets - August 19
37205. Sterling silver vs. silver plate -- How to tell? - August 11
10664. Touching up powder coated aluminum outdoor furniture (Tropitone) - August 10
55951. Home nickel plating with vinegar and salt - August 1
8575. Remove Water Stain from Teak - August 1
60191. Restoring black exterior door hardware - August 3
16699. Want Geneva Metal Kitchen Cabinets RFQ open to all: New York
- August 2
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6b. RESEARCH, THESIS TOPICS, UNIVERSITY & POST-GRAD STUDENTS
61739. Electroplating V, Zr and Ti - September 28
61719. Electroplating: Role of a chemist - September 10
28889. Measuring the pH of air - August 24
61712. Galvanic Issues with Nickel-Plated Aluminum vs. Stainless?
- August 21
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6c. K-12 Science Projects, Grammar & High School Student Questions
6d. The Artists' Corner
6507. Benzotriazole and substitutes for brass corrosion control - November 16
61750. Forcing a white patina on zinc for watch dials - October 11
24061. Finish for Bare Steel -- linseed oil?
- August 10
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7. DRIFTED OFF FINISHING, BUT INTERESTING :-)
14342. Is it a Stiffel? - 11/28/24
12873a. Removing Silica Water Stains - November 23
30479. Copper corrosion and blue water in residential water system - November 18
29370. Marking system for rings, Hallmarks - November 13
44190. Problem related to cyanide addition - November 13
61765. Is Spirits of Nitre or Paregoric good for your nerves? - October 31
26801. Solving an electrolysis problem in home plumbing - October 25
2259. High Temperature Adhesive for Mica to Silicone Rubber - September 23
23897. Identify this unique lamp - August 18
61706. Kitchen Floor Stained by Glue Trap
- August 18
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