Zinc electroplating
Posted: Wed Apr 05, 2023 3:33 pm
I'm going to be plating some parts with zinc and thought I'd share the process with you guys. This is one of the easiest plating processes both in terms of procedure and ease of finding the necessary material. My source of information was an article written by Darlene Martin from Plating Resources Inc. I saved the article a while ago, and it's a good thing that I saved it because it appears to have disappeared from the internet, or at least I can't find it anymore.
The article covers multiple ways of doing zinc, nickel, and other metals, and a text version is attached here for your fun and delectation.
For me the easiest procedure was the alkaline formulation of the bath because it's the easiest to find the ingredients for the bath:
1. Distilled water (if you're a purist). I am guilty of using tap water once or twice.
2. 40 g/liter Sodium carbonate. This is a fancy name for washing soda. Here in Canada you can find Arm & Hammer "So Clean" washing soda at Canadian Tire for about $5 a box. You can also make your own from baking soda. Put baking soda in a pan and heat it up while stirring continuously until it no longer bubbles.
3. 90 g/liter Sodium hydroxide. This is caustic soda, or lye. I found caustic soda crystals at home hardware, about $30 for a 2 liter jug. I used it in making my own soap and still have some around.
4. 1/2% per volume Addition agent. My understanding is that the addition agent ensures a bright plating, which I don't really care about. The quantity is also very small anyway.
The formulation calls for zinc metal, 15 g/liter.
In the past I have used a battery charger as source of current, set on the 2A setting. I'll show some pics when I start plating stuff.
Anyway, join in the discussion if interested, it's not like I know this perfectly, but I have plated some parts successfully.
The article covers multiple ways of doing zinc, nickel, and other metals, and a text version is attached here for your fun and delectation.
For me the easiest procedure was the alkaline formulation of the bath because it's the easiest to find the ingredients for the bath:
1. Distilled water (if you're a purist). I am guilty of using tap water once or twice.
2. 40 g/liter Sodium carbonate. This is a fancy name for washing soda. Here in Canada you can find Arm & Hammer "So Clean" washing soda at Canadian Tire for about $5 a box. You can also make your own from baking soda. Put baking soda in a pan and heat it up while stirring continuously until it no longer bubbles.
3. 90 g/liter Sodium hydroxide. This is caustic soda, or lye. I found caustic soda crystals at home hardware, about $30 for a 2 liter jug. I used it in making my own soap and still have some around.
4. 1/2% per volume Addition agent. My understanding is that the addition agent ensures a bright plating, which I don't really care about. The quantity is also very small anyway.
The formulation calls for zinc metal, 15 g/liter.
In the past I have used a battery charger as source of current, set on the 2A setting. I'll show some pics when I start plating stuff.
Anyway, join in the discussion if interested, it's not like I know this perfectly, but I have plated some parts successfully.