The HOTLINE (Q&A forum)
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0. CORROSION, COMPATIBILITY, CHOOSING A FINISH . . .
• Max. Temp for plated silver open Q. - June 18
• Need Chicago screws in 3 colors RFQ Krakow, Poland - June 17
• Coating for Spillway Gate Chains open Q. - June 16
• Which stainless steels are Magnetic open Q. - June 15
• 202 SS or 304 SS for Baby Cutlery items open Q. - June 14
• Anti-corrosion coatings for Railway Track open Q. - June 13
• Galvanic Compatibility of Aluminum & Stainless Steel - June 13
• Why don't air conditioner condensers suffer galvanic corrosion from aluminum fins on copper tubing? - June 6
• Galvanic compatibility of aluminum guards on copper gutters open Q. - June 3
• Best Heat Sink Finishes / Surface Treatments - May 30
• Durable, Conductive, RoHS Aluminum Coating Suggestions open Q. - May 16
• Chromate conversion coat Zamac 3 directly vs. zinc plate first? open Q. - May 14
• Hot-dip galvanising alternatives - March 14
• Thin dense chrome vs titanium nitride? - March 12
• Hot Dip Galvanize vs. Zinc Electroplating - March 8
1. PREPARATION . . .
1a. MECHANICAL PREP [GRINDING, POLISHING, VIBRATORY FINISHING, BUFFING, HONING]
• Very High Bond tape doesn't stick to mirror polished stainless steel - June 21
• Is there any Roughness Standard under N1 / Ra 0.025 ? open Q. - May 24
• What VDI Finish is required for light pipes? open Q. - May 12
• How to dull a stainless steel finish - May 9
• Need to do Deburring of Titanium RFQ San Luis Obispo CA - April 27
• Problems with stainless steel cut wire media in magnetic tumbler Thanks! Resolved :-) - April 13
• Superfinishing Stainless Steel - March 17
• Profilometer vs. surface comparator for castings - March 4
• How to clean steel contaminated with Sodium Metabisulfite. open Q. (February 5)
1b. PRETREATMENTS [CLEANING, PICKLING, ETCHING, PHOSPHATIZING, ACTIVATION]
• Surface Activation for Phosphating open Q. - June 16
• Electrolytic cleaning: anode to cathode ratio - June 3
• Mn phosphating formula for couplings for pipes & treads open Q. - May 29
• Zinc Phosphate coating problems & issues; Q&A's open Q. - May 27
• Alternatives to Phosphating open Q. - May 27
• Zinc Phosphating: Yellow Stain only on GI sheets open Q. - May 27
• Want to make alkaline ball burnishing compound open Q. - May 23
• Can't phosphate high carbon steel open Q. - May 23
• Bright dip for Fe-Cr-Al Alloy wire? open Q. - May 16
• Can the same surface treatment line be used for different substrates - May 12
• Why do we use 15-18% HCl for pickling - May 4
• Manganese phosphate coating absent on soft nitrided parts - May 4
• Manganese phosphate coating: issues and answers - May 4
• Why 'acid activate' copper before plating, and how? - April 17
• Need details of 'the 7-tank process' open Q. - April 6
• Manganese Phosphate Components have a red cast - April 1
• Trichloroethylene/TCE in Metal Finishing - March 29
• Free and total acidity in phosphating - March 27
• What is the difference between electrocleaning and electropolishing? - March 23
• Electropolishing of Tungsten Carbide open Q. - March 7
1c. MASKING, RACKING, TAPING, PLUGGING, PHOTOSENSITIVE MASKS
• How to mask glass bangles for PVD coating open Q. - June 18
• Tape is causing Anodizing defects - May 12
• Masking material / method for electroless nickel plating - March 17
• How to Mask for Hardcoat Anodize - March 16
2. METALLIC & INORGANIC FINISHING . . .
2a. STAINLESS STEEL & TITANIUM PROCESSING
Stainless steel passivation problem: color inconsistent
- June 28
• Stainless Passivation Temperature Ranges - Why is 90-120 °F excluded? - June 28
Titanium galling & anodize/oxidize wear resistance
- June 28
• Electropolishing 304 stainless steel, or alternatives to it - June 21
• Need titanium bolts & washers blackened RFQ: Tucson AZ - June 9
• 'Frosted marks' from electropolishing? open Q. - June 8
• 3 interesting open questions about electropolishing stainless steel open Q. - June 3
• Chemical/Electro polishing of stainless steel open Q. - June 1
• 304 Stainless Steel for Liquor Decanter open Q. - May 19
• Does passivated 304 offer same corrosion protection as regular 316? - May 16
• Annealed & passivated stainless parts fail water immersion test - May 12
• Anodizing of titanium: Type II alkaline RFQ: Spring, TX - May 8
• Aging issues with phosphoric acid/sulfuric acid electropolishing solution? Thanks! Resolved :-) - May 5
• Need non-magnetic 17-7 PH material - May 4
• Diffusion Treatment Of 316 Stainless Steel stained it - May 3
• Electropolishing nickel-titanium (nitinol) Q&A's, Problems & Solutions - April 27
• Stainless Steel Electropolishing parameters open Q. - April 18
• Need consultation support of AMS2487/AMS2488 Type II Anodizing Process RFQ Bangalore, India - February 20
• Ferric Chloride Not Etching Stainless Steel - February 17
2b. ANODIZING AND LIGHT METAL TREATMENTS (Aluminum, Magnesium)
White Powder/Salts on Anodized Aluminum open Q.
- June 28
• 7075-T6 Poor anodising appearance related to minor differences in composition? - June 23
• Need Phosphoric acid anodize ASTM-D-9399 RFQ: Thailand - June 17
• Discoloration of MIL-5541 Alodine - June 13
• Can chem-film resist ultrasonic cleaning? - June 12
• Problems with Alodine/Iridite/Chem-film and Blind Holes - June 9
• Salt spray test hours for anodized aluminum - June 3
• Aluminum Alloy Rotogravure Cylinder Problems & Solutions open Q. - June 3
• Constant voltage anodizing issue: Current out is higher than current in open Q. - May 27
• Extend Alkaline etching bath life by decanting? open Q. - May 26
• Burning problem in Hard Anodizing of Aluminum - May 26
• White spotting on black anodising - May 25
• Black spots on anodized surfaces - May 25
• Conversion Coating Process (Chromating?) for Mazak (Zamak) open Q. - May 24
• Using titanium baskets & scrap aluminum wire as anodizing cathode? open Q. - May 23
• Issues black anodizing & clear anodizing sandwich panels open Q. - May 14
• Can't Get Anodized Aluminum Watch Dials Blue Enough - May 13
• Need anodizing theory Thanks! Resolved :-) - May 12
• Problem in shiny anodized product - May 4
• Blueish discoloration on hard anodized parts - April 17
• Black spots on aluminum from anodizing open Q. - April 12
• Dissolving aluminum with caustic soda - April 8
• Current drop during anodizing - April 7
• Stains on 6061 Aluminum open Q. - April 6
• Thickness/weight of anodize coatings Thanks! Resolved :-) - April 4
• Chromic Acid Anodizing: Introduction and Problems & Solutions - March 29
• Phosphoric Acid Anodizing (PAA) current & thickness issues - March 17
• Pitting Defect on Bright Finished Aluminium Extrusion open Q. - March 16
• Setup and startup of a new anodizing line - March 16
• Hardcoating Of Cast Aluminum (ADC12) open Q. - March 16
• Black anodized parts feel like a chalkboard Thanks! Resolved :-) - March 8
• Anodizing Cast Aluminum - March 6
• Chromate not properly coating 5052 alloy open Q. - March 3
• Two-color anodizing - February 20
• Anodizing amperage drops to zero - February 20
• How to do printing onto Anodized Aluminum open Q. - February 20
• Chemfilm & hard anodize on mic 8 aluminum - February 17
• Chromic acid is being dragged into black dye tank (February 15)
• Electrocolouring of anodized aluminum: speckles & white powder stains open Q. (February 12)
• Electroplating / Electrodeposition of Aluminum (February 11)
• Masking/stripping when chromate conversion and anodizing on same part open Q. (February 9)
• Need world-class re-anodizing of a large sculpture RFQ Hudson NY (February 9)
• Anodizing and electroless nickel on same piece (February 2)
2c. ELECTROPLATING and ELECTROFORMING
• How to reduce brittleness in copper (PCB) plating - June 28
• Zinc Plating + Iridescent Chromate expected, but parts are white - June 23
• Tin plating peels off copper plating when baked open Q. - June 21
• Nickel plating blisters & peels off open Q. - June 20
• Source of Contamination on Hard Gold Contacts? - June 20
• When did copper flashing on steel for nickel plating begin? open Q. - June 17
• Sn (tin) plating bath has turned violet/purple - June 16
• How to Remove calcium from Nickel Plating Solution open Q. - June 14
• Silver Plating is Blistering open Q. - June 9
• Pitting problem in nickel-chrome plating on brass open Q. - June 9
• "Whitewash" on Chrome Plate - June 8
• Alkaline zinc plating at 40 ASF - June 6
• How to reduce hardness in nickel sulfamate plating? - June 3
• Alkaline zinc plating problem: Black dots/spots that grow with time open Q. - May 29
• Blue Chrome defect in hard chrome plating open Q. - May 27
• Must do Acid Copper Plating with no additives open Q. - May 27
• Nickel plated parts peel when powder coated but not when heat quenched - May 24
• Acid zinc plating Anodes are black-ish open Q. - May 24
• Sodium Vinyl Sulfonate usage in electroplating industry open Q. - May 24
• Best filler material (ball bearings?) for barrel plating aluminum parts open Q. - May 24
• Pin holes on hard chrome plated bars open Q. - May 21
• Can we use stainless anodes in silver plating to battle rising concentration? open Q. - May 21
• White haze on parts after sulfamate nickel plating open Q. - May 17
• How long can nickel current be interrupted - May 16
• Hard chrome on Stellite: tank is black w/pitting & peel off issues - May 16
• Tin plating cast iron meat grinders open Q. - May 14
• Zinc Plating has unwanted Rainbow Color - May 12
• Alkaline zinc plating goes faster at low temperatures than high Thanks! Resolved :-) - May 11
• Why must diluted acid be used in nickel plating, not concentrated? - May 7
• Cost/pound for FO1 Zinc Plating w/ Clear Chromate on steel open Q. - May 5
• Need Silver or Tin Plating of Low-Voltage Contacts made from Copper & Brass RFQ: Milwaukee, WI - May 4
• Poor Salt spray test results on black zinc plating - May 4
• Some problems in Zinc-Nickel Plating - May 4
• Zinc plating with clear chromate discoloration issues - May 4
• Need Shop to do Chrome Seal per PS 11501 RFQ Concord CA - May 3
• Acid zinc plating: peroxide is doing something to clog our filters - May 2
• Sulfamate Nickel Strike Problems - May 2
• Function of Boric acid in Nickel Plating - May 2
• Activating/reactivating old Nickel plating - May 2
• Alkaline Zinc Plating Rundown Streaking - April 26
• What is Blue Chromate Plating? - April 23
• Weird Hard Chrome on Sulfamate Nickel adhesion problem open Q. - April 23
Inquirer often helps others, so especially deserves our help
• Cloudiness & rainbows after Zinc Plating - April 19
• Substitute/Alternate/Replacement for Rhodium Plating open Q. - April 15
• Nickel or Electroless Nickel plating on nitrided steel open Q. - April 15
• Non cyanide copper plating Q&As / Problems & Solutions open Q. - April 13
• How to make Rhodium Plating Solution Thanks! Resolved :-) - April 13
• Cause of white patches in yellow zinc plating open Q. - April 9
• Copper & Nickel Plating Thickness vs. Salt spray Resistance Thanks! Resolved :-) - April 7
• Acid Zinc Plating: Problems & Solutions - April 7
• Brass Plating Problem: we add zinc salt but analysis shows no increase in zinc concentration - April 6
• How to calculate plating cost? open Q. - April 1
• Brush plating stainless with Wood's Nickel Thanks! Resolved :-) - March 29
• HCl immersion time for replating old car parts - March 27
• Turbulence limit for chrome plating of inner diameter? open Q. - March 27
• Nickel Contamination of Gold Plating Bath - March 27
• Hard chrome broken & burnt - March 26
• Electrical conduction properties of nickel plating - March 25
• We need gold plating consultant RFQ Minnesota - March 22
• Our nickel plating on copper & brass suddenly started peeling - March 21
• Chrome Plating Throwing Power Thanks! Resolved :-) - March 21
• Problem holding Zinc concentration in alkaline Zinc plating bath - March 21
• Black Chrome Plating is making our hands dirty open Q. - March 18
• Rhodium plating of silver rings Q&A's - March 10
• Ruthenium plating on high phosphorous EN open Q. - March 4
• Hydraulic fluid leaks through/over hard chromium plating open Q. - March 4
• Need Cadmium Plating per NAS672 RFQ So. California - March 3
• Zinc plating thickness vs. salt spray resistance - March 2
• Copper Tungsten: Activation / Plating / Surface Treatment Thanks! Resolved :-) - February 28
• Hydrogen embrittlement in zinc plating of auto parts from the 1960's - February 23
• Thin Dense Chrome has Brown Spots open Q. (February 15)
• Nickel plating onto alumina dispersion-strengthened Cu alloy (February 14)
• Barrier layer when gold plating on sterling silver open Q. (February 13)
• Poor plating adhesion on Remko (high purity iron) material (February 13)
• Hard chrome plating on copper open Q. (February 11)
• Matte Tin Plating on top of Bright Tin Plating open Q. (February 11)
• White Spots on Cadmium Plating from wooden shipping crates? open Q. (February 10)
• Cost of hard chroming a cylindrical shaft (February 10)
• Cadmium Plating Problems Thanks! Resolved :-) (February 10)
• How to make gold plating last longer? open Q. (February 9)
• Need Tin-cobalt plating RFQ Wheeling, IL (February 4)
• Need to hold surface finish on Zinc Nickel plated parts open Q. (February 3)
• Clear zinc plating develops brown stains with time open Q. (February 3)
• Fingerprints on silver plated finish (February 2)
2d. ELECTROLESS PLATING, PLATING ON PLASTICS, IMMERSION PLATING, CHROME-LOOK SPRAYS, LIQUID METAL COATINGS
• Palladium activation & Plating on Plastic open Q. - June 26
• 'Contact' plating questions open Q. - June 21
• Stability Problems with Electroless Palladium Solution open Q. - June 17
• Heat treatment of Electroless Nickel for 400-500 Vickers - June 6
• Poor adhesion of Electroless Nickel Plating onto steel - June 2
• Electroless Nickel Plating for wet sour service open Q. - June 2
• Electroless nickel plating is turning black, tarnishing open Q. - May 2
• Immersion gold plating vs. electroless gold plating - April 26
• Chrome plating peels off of ABS+PC - April 5
• Preventing discoloration of tin plated copper bus bars - April 5
• Need EN on Magnesium Touched Up RFQ Tucson AZ - March 27
• Palladium-free direct plate technology for plating on plastic? - March 20
• Electroless Nickel plating on NiCr - March 7
• Immersion gold) peels off of electroless nickel - March 3
• Selective Electroless Nickel Plating or Stripping open Q. - February 25
• In-situ Electroless Nickel Plating Repair open Q. (February 10)
• Racks for plating ABS/plastic get electroless nickel plated 2nd Rqst (February 3)
2e. PVD, CVD, ION IMPLANTATION, VACUUM PROCESSES
• How to get Black PVD finish - May 22
• PVD coatings: color control - May 4
• Masking in PVD process open Q. - March 25
• Need to patch up the leakage in vacuum chamber open Q. - March 22
• Diamond Like Carbon (DLC) Coating Coming Off After Steam Autoclave - March 16
• Pinholes in base coat for vacuum metallizing on ABS (February 7)
2f. GALVANIZING, ALUMINIZING, HOT TIN DIPPING
• Lifespan of galvanized sheet metal? - June 24
• Need re-galvanizing of metal shelving RFQ Limpopo, So. Africa - June 18
• Continuous Sheet Galvanizing: wrinkling/creases/heat buckling problem open Q. - June 16
• Some Galvalume Panels Are Turning Black open Q. - June 8
• Types of zinc used for galvanizing: PWZ vs.GOB for solar profiles - June 2
• Surfactants used in preflux and blanket flux Thanks! Resolved :-) - May 30
• Spinning and rolling to clean threads after galvanizing - May 27
• Galvanizing defects: black patches open Q. - May 20
• What is an Ash Box (in Hot Dip Galvanizing) - April 24
• Hot dip galvanizing: what is reasonable dross & ash material loss? - April 24
• How to calculate/measure the thickness of zinc coatings open Q. - April 11
• Iron content in hydrochloric acid - April 1
• How to start a simple, low investment galvanizing plant open Q. - March 29
• How Can I Reduce Zinc Dross - March 22
• White patches on new hot dip galvanized - March 22
• Wire hot dip galvanizing open Q. - March 20
• Converting from wet galvanizing to dry galvanizing Thanks! Resolved :-) - February 21
• Impossible to make Zn-Mg-Al ternary hot-dip galvanized steel pipe? open Q. - February 18
• Prevention of white rust in wire galvanizing (February 15)
• Want to know reasons for PIT MARKS on galvanized sheet (February 15)
• Rusting of Hot Dip galvanized steel (February 12)
2g. BLACK OXIDE, BLUING, COLORING, PATINATING, NITRIDING
• Mid temperature blackening smut issue open Q. - June 13
• Rust on black oxide parts open Q. - June 12
• Black oxide problems on 4340 steel open Q. - May 13
• Steam Homo Treatment vs Black Oxide Treatment - April 6
• Black oxiding of hardened steel is brown open Q. - March 3
2h. OTHER INORGANIC FINISHING: Mechanical Plating, QPQ, Metal Spray, Zinc-rich Dip-Spin Coatings, Sherardizing, etc.
3. ORGANIC FINISHING [PAINT, POWDER COATING] . . .
3a. ELECTROPAINT PRIMING, AUTOPHORETIC COATINGS
• Need CED coating service in Chennai RFQ Chennai India - June 16
• Chalky, ashy CED (cathodic electrodeposition) coating open Q. - May 28
• Random adhesion failure in Electrodeposition coating open Q. - April 15
• CED painting voltage is dropping open Q. - March 2
3b. POWDER COATING
• Blisters/ Peeling of Powder Coating on Zinc Plating open Q. - June 23
• Powder Coating Galvanized Steel open Q. - May 17
• Necessity for primer with powder coatings? open Q. - April 19
• How to prevent corrosion of dully powder coated CRCA panels from acid fumes? - March 29
• Powder coat adhesion problem on zinc plate - February 20
• Powder coating on cast iron calipers open Q. (February 3)
3c. LACQUERS, CLEAR COATS, ELECTROPHORETIC TINTING, ANTI-TARNISH
• Clearcoat for polished brass & copper bathtubs open Q. - June 27
• Water spot problem in CED open Q. - April 4
• Need electrophoretic lacquer on alligator clips RFQ Akron OH (February 7)
3d. PAINTING, PRINTING, ADHESIVES AND OTHER ORGANIC COATINGS
Eliminate Pin Holes on Painted Wheels open Q.
- June 27
• Plastisol Mixing Formulas and Improvements open Q. - June 6
• How to produce plastisol ink, pvc ink, and water based ink - May 29
• Paint moisture problem open Q. - May 14
• Hologram-like defect in automotive paint - April 25
• "Passivating" carbon steel using Citric Acid open Q. - April 12
• Can You Paint a Car with House Paint? open Q. - April 11
• Zinc rich primers in submerged service on steel ships open Q. - March 20
• Earthing/grounding of parts during paint application open Q. - February 25
• Formula for NC Thinner & Auto Thinner? open Q. - February 24
• Poor paint adhesion on Zinc-Nickel plating open Q. (February 1)
4. POST-TREATMENTS
4a. CHEMICAL POST-TREATMENTS [CHROMATE CONVERSION COATINGS, RUST PREVENTATIVES, PATINAS, COLORIZING]
• Chromate conversion on cadmium not adhering open Q. - March 23
• Generic solution for chromating brass - March 22
• Bright Dipping of Brass: some shop problems open Q. - March 20
4b. BAKING AND NON-CHEMICAL POST-TREATMENTS [HYDROGEN EMBRITTLEMENT AND DE-EMBRITTLEMENT, ANNEALING, WHISKERS, SOLDERING, REFLOWING]
4c. STRIPPING, REWORKS, ETC.
• Chemical to remove nickel plating from silver or brass jewelry? - May 12
• How to remove gold from copper? open Q. - March 23
• Stripping tin from copper (tin resist on PCB won't maintain normality) - February 17
• Stripping Nickel From Invar open Q. (February 11)
• Stripping nickel electroplate from Kovar open Q. (February 1)
5. SUPPORTING ISSUES
5a. ANALYSIS, LAB TECHNIQUE, Q.A., SALT SPRAY TESTING
• Distilled water good enough for analysis open Q. - June 25
• Thickness measurement of gold & EN on copper open Q. - June 7
• Analyze Chrome Plating Bath; Determine Sulfates open Q. - June 6
• Chem filmed panels fail salt spray test - May 30
• Platinized titanium anodes for electroplating: buying, making, testing open Q. - May 29
• Analyze cobalt and nickel metal separately open Q. - May 26
• Making sulfuric acid anodizing solution Thanks! Resolved :-) - May 13
• Measuring equipment for silver plating brightener? open Q. - April 18
• Method to identify tin plating versus nickel plating - April 12
• How do you know it's electropolished? Validation open Q. - March 28
• Silver Plating Adhesion Tests & Problems, AMS2410 & AMS2411 open Q. - March 21
• Propylene Glycol leak into Sulfuric Anodizing Tank open Q. - February 22
• Weight measurement of zinc phosphate coatings (February 11)
• Silver plating: analysis of silver (February 10)
• Nickel thickness measurement: which electrolyte? open Q. (February 1)
5b. WASTE & WASTEWATER TREATMENT, POLLUTION CONTROL
• Defects on test panel left in the water - June 2
• Can Trivalent Chromium degrade into Hexavalent Chromium? - May 3
• Dangers of drinking deionized water open Q. - April 19
• Methods for pH measurement in D.I. water - April 15
5c. SAFETY ISSUES, EMISSIONS, TOXICITY, ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
• Mercury Poisoning from thermometers open Q. - May 31
• Metallic taste when wearing copper bracelet open Q. - May 24
• Is chrome plated drain cover poisoning my cat? - May 15
• Chromate poisoning from concrete work - April 10
• Fumes from Nichrome wire? - March 23
• I'm allergic to gold - March 12
• Fumes from stainless pot left on burner sickened me - February 25
• Copper Sulphate as Liver Fluke Prevention? open Q. (February 11)
5d. PLANT & PROCESS ENGINEERING, CONSTRUCTION
• Looking for small custom titanium anode baskets RFQ: Guatamala - June 7
• Sludge buildup in phosphating piping - June 3
• Heating/cooling coil material for chrome plating - May 20
• Sodium hypochlorite (bleach) piping problems - May 19
• Maximum safe watt density for zinc plating solution heating - May 10
• Passivating electroless nickel tanks; anodic protection - May 3
• Heating and Cooling of Chrome Plating Tanks RFQ: SP, Brazil - May 2
• Ideal Sequence for Alkaline Zinc Plating - May 2
• Materials of construction for pump for zinc phosphate open Q. - April 6
• Hard Anodize Tank Design - March 25 Inquirer often helps others, so especially deserves our help
• Sodium Dichromate Seal Tank Liner Materials and a compatible filter (February 9) Inquirer often helps others, so especially deserves our help
• Water Evaporation Estimates at Sub-freezing Temperature (February 3)
5e. QUESTIONS ABOUT SOFTWARE, SPECS, BOOKS, EDUCATION, INDUSTRY STATS, ETC.
• Meaning of plating spec abbreviation MFzn8S open Q. - June 12
• How to Make Artificial Sweat and Conduct Testing? open Q. - June 2
• Swedish Standard St2 / St3 open Q. - May 2
• MIL-C-5541: Will It Work On Copper - April 13
• Cadmium Plating spec QQ-P-416 and clear chromate - March 23
• Galvanic Corrosion Test for Titanium Anodize (AMS 2487) open Q. (February 16)
• Looking for "Theory and Practice of Pulse Plating" (February 15)
• Zirconium Coating Daimler Standard open Q. (February 6)
5f. W...W...W...WORD OF THE WEEK
• How Did Kitchen Zinc become Sink? open Q. - June 26
• Definition of "passivated" in regards to metal finishing, plating, and stainless steel - March 13
5g. MOSTLY METALLURGY; Heat Treatment
• Hardening EN8 / EN9 parts. Q&A's, Problems & Solutions open Q. - April 1
• 316L Stainless is too spring-y open Q. - March 4
• Silver brazing flies out of gap between copper surface and nickel plated surface open Q. (February 9)
• Pinholes / blowholes in cast aluminum components open Q. (February 1)
5h. PRECIOUS METAL RECOVERY
• Why is broken catalytic converter honeycomb worthless as scrap? open Q. - May 21
• Refining of silver chloride to silver metal - April 26
• Best and Easiest way to refine gold dust open Q. - April 21
• Extracting Silver From Photographic Fixer open Q. - April 18
• How to precipitate gold from HAuCl4 solution open Q. - March 27
• Recovery from AP waste solution open Q. - March 8
• Strip and recover silver from silver plated tableware open Q. - March 8
• Gold recovery with zinc - February 21
6. NON-INDUSTRIAL ISSUES
Hobbyists, DIY, Around Home
• Copper plating of lead bullets, cheap & simple open Q. - June 30 TODAY
• Lime-Away damaged stainless steel sink open Q. - June 30 TODAY
Cleaning corroded pennies and coins - June 28
Allergic reaction to gold rings
- June 26
• Sealing asphalt shingles with soybean oil? open Q. - June 17
• Acid copper sulphate plating problems: crystals forming on anode - June 15
• How to refinish brass lamps open Q. - June 15
• How to maintain/protect zinc plated steel shelving - June 14
• Restore Silver damaged by bleach ... toothpaste is the answer - June 12
• Re-Finishing Zinc/Zamac/Pot Metal gun parts and replicas - June 2
• Damaged finish on copper table - June 2
• FB Rogers Silver Co. -- Is it Sterling or Plated - May 29
• How to identify old lamps? open Q. - May 29
• Discoloration of black zinc plated parts - May 27
• Nickel plating old gold clubs at home - May 25
• Acid testing for silver & precious metals - May 23
• Etching of steel texture plates for rolling mill with copper sulfate & salt - May 20
• Spray chroming with silver nitrate open Q. - May 19
• Looking for "NicSand" Aluminum Oxide Sanding Gel - May 19
• Blacken a copper sink - May 17
• Black anodizing is purplish not black - May 16
• Bluing/Black Oxide/Zinc Phosphate Thanks! Resolved :-) - May 13
• Replating of silver jewelry Thanks! Resolved :-) - May 11
• Painting inside of galvanized stock tanks (underwater use) - May 10
• Electroplating & grinding vs. a piston bush to repair piston open Q. - May 9
• Cleaning/repairing zinc tabletop open Q. - May 9
• Painted yard art now lacks patina - May 8
• Paint a roof to look like real copper - May 8
• Alternatives to achieve rainbow effect - May 5
• Brass Finishers in the 1800's open Q. - May 4
• Painting an aluminum boat - May 3
• 1995 non-copper penny - May 2
• Re-do nickel-lined copper cookware open Q. - May 2
• Can gold be reclaimed from old ceramic dishes with gold trim on the edges open Q. - May 2
• Sterling silver vs. silver plated -- How to tell? Thanks! Resolved :-) - April 28
• Decorative anodizing of titanium - April 25
• Oxidize copper without patinating solution - April 25
• How to do Gold Plating of Vinyl Records open Q. - April 24
• Problems and solutions in copper electroforming - April 19
• Dishwasher ruined shiny aluminum -- How to fix it? - April 19
• Restoring the yellow dichromate finish on automobile carburetors open Q. - April 18
• UV light is tarnishing silver? - April 14
• Remove copper-nickel cladding from copper core coins? open Q. - April 14
• Clear Coating Stainless Steel? - April 13
• Silver polish (Tarn-X) stained my stainless steel sink open Q. - April 12
• Copper plating steel in home shop - April 9
• How to Make Aluminum Corrode / Patina? - April 4
• Theda Sterling Silver Medals, Crosses, & Jewelry open Q. - April 1
• Copper-plating of leaves and bark - April 1
• Remove Teflon coating from pot with oven's self-cleaning temperature? - March 31
• What kind of finish is on my grill? Thanks! Resolved :-) - March 28
• Grout cleaner stains on my stainless steel fridge! open Q. - March 25
• Cold galvanising over black oxide or solid rust Thanks! Resolved :-) - March 23
• Want to plate nickel silver watch dials RFQ: London, England - March 21
• Allergic to black rhodium - March 20
• Coating hot tub parts open Q. - March 20
• How to remove epoxy from stainless steel floor open Q. - March 17
• Hot rolled steel stairs open Q. - March 16
• Decorative painting of a metal mailbox open Q. - March 12
• Gold leaf for ornate bronze lamp? - March 10
• Want my stainless steel table brushed or dulled down RFQ Philadelphia - March 8
• Etching Al-Cu PCBs open Q. - March 6
• Clear coat sealer for cast iron bird bath - March 5
• Cleaning/restoring vintage tin humpback trunk open Q. - March 4
• Making black watch dials brown open Q. - March 2
• Silver Pennies - March 2
• Artist Anodizing of Aluminum - March 1
• Cleaning Dirilyte Gold-tone Flatware Thanks! Resolved :-) - February 23
• Corten Rusted Steel -- Q&A, Applications, Problems open Q. - February 20
• Why would yellow gold turn silver? - February 18
• Is Rit Dye Effective for Anodizing? - February 18
• Copper/Aluminum interaction and galvanic/hydrolysis problems open Q. (February 16)
• Need replating of dark brass coffee table RFQ Miami FL (February 15)
• Medallion Liquid Gold electroless (replacement-catalytic) product open Q. (February 15)
• Need fiberglass and resin mask gold plated RFQ Kansas City MO (February 15)
• Three-color anodizing open Q. (February 11)
• "Rainbowing" and "Bluing" of Stainless Steel (February 11)
• Recipe for red patina on brass & copper (February 10)
• Restore brass doorknobs, ashtrays, etc. (February 10)
• How to Strip nickel plating from iron or steel (February 10)
• Q&As about Gold Plated Flatware open Q. (February 4)
• "Aluminium paint" applications and issues open Q. (February 3)
6b. RESEARCH, THESIS TOPICS, UNIVERSITY & POST-GRAD STUDENTS
• Electrolytic Passivation of Nickel Plating - June 7
• Electroplating on 3D Printed & Stereolithography (SLA) models open Q. - June 6
• White Bronze Plating, an alternative to nickel? - May 30
• Acid Zinc Plating Brightener Q&A open Q. - May 14
• Electroplating Copper Chromium Alloy Deposit? - May 13
• Reaction between hot aqua regia and sulphur open Q. - April 1
• Electroplating Copper onto PVD/Sputtered Gold Substrate - March 30
• Ni-W coatings with high W content crack open Q. - March 29
• Zinc stopped plating out when voltage got high - March 28
• Ruthenium use in iPhone open Q. - March 25
• Electroplating of copper onto sputtered gold open Q. - March 22
• Plating copper pipe with iron open Q. - March 22
• Titanium plating (Electrodeposition OF titanium) - March 2
• How many times can 4340 be cad plated, stripped, and replated? - February 28
• How to Remove Red-Orange Color from Chromium Trioxide - February 25
• Effect of hydrogen on aluminum open Q. - February 20
• Want bright brass plating to look like gold open Q. - February 17
• Nickel Plating on Glidcop: Can't get good adhesion (February 15)
• Best Nickel-Manganese-Cobalt plating bath open Q. (February 10)
6c. K-12 Science Projects, Grammar & High School Student Questions
• Why can't we store electricity in water? - June 14
• How many mL of water must be added to 10 grams of NaOH to make a 0.50 molar solution? Thanks! Resolved :-) - May 23
6d. The Artists' Corner
• Dark Reddish Spots when Bronze Casting - June 7
• What do black spots on aluminum sculpture tell art student? - May 25
• Strange reaction of copper BB on a bronze sculpture - May 2
• Protecting Metal Birds in the Tropics - April 23
• How to clean/repair C Jere metal sculpture open Q. - March 21
• Painting cast iron fountains / restoring rusty fountains - March 10
7. DRIFTED OFF FINISHING, BUT INTERESTING :-)
• Making homemade acid stains for concrete open Q. - June 30 TODAY
Repair of barber chairs
- June 28
Antique baby carriage restoration open Q.
- June 26
• Identifying rings and hallmarks open Q. - June 16
• Recovery of Metallic Magnesium from Magnesium Citrate. Is It Possible? - June 13
• How to recover gold from the ocean open Q. - June 3
• Found blue rhodium ore open Q. - June 2
• Restoring an old National Cash Register - May 30
• What does DS 925 mean on my silver pendant - May 29
• Refining of silver chloride to silver metal - May 29
• Looking for Green Engraver, or parts and manuals, Model D2 or 106 open Q. - May 28
• Steelcase Tanker Desk Restoration Tips: remove the lock open Q. - May 15
• Removing yellow stains from bath tub open Q. - May 14
• Green colour transformer oil in storage drums open Q. - May 4
• Mercury damage to gold jewelry can be fixed with coconut oil - May 2
• Cleaning & Polishing Seashells open Q. - April 28
• Built in cast iron bread baker? Thanks! Resolved :-) - April 27
• Sedgwick Residential Elevators Parts and Maintenance open Q. - April 18
• How to make bronze open Q. - April 18
• About sweet spirits of nitre & paregoric - April 14
• Antique icebox Q&A's, Problems & Solutions open Q. - April 13
• Stiffel lamps: How to repair Q&A's - April 10
• Convert volume conductivity to volume resistivity - April 5
• Hoyt Metal Ingot. What type of metal do I have? - March 30
• Want to learn Geology, Metallurgy, & Fossils open Q. - March 29
• Interested in smelting a ring from rhodium open Q. - March 16
• How to convert synthetic oil perfume to water based perfume open Q. - March 12
• Problems in Phenyl Manufacturing, Q&A;s - March 11
• Is bronze flatware safe in the dishwasher - March 6
• Crowsfoot with torque wrench. What's the math? open Q. - February 28
• Bleaching Saguaro (Cactus) Skeletons (February 13)
• Which metal is safest for fireplace heat exchanger? open Q. (February 10)
• Restoring Comstock Castle cast iron stove open Q. (February 2)
Note: For 2 weeks RFQs are reserved for Advertisers and colored Red.
If no advertiser responds in 2 weeks the RFQs are colored Green and Open To all readers.