At 02:22 PM 1/26/2002 -0500, you wrote:
>Jeff...steel can be cadmium plated for corrosion resistance. Paint will
>stick to the coating and the process will not change the properties of metal
>as does chroming. Robin
Caution is in order here. Any plating process that uses acid bath
and electrically driven transfer will have free hydrogen ions which are the
source of the problem. Cadmium plating is typically done much faster than
Chrome plating but depending on the metal thickness, Hydrogen imbrittlement
can still be a problem. So it's time, current and thickness related.
We used an Eastman Cad Plating Kit last year and I tried to plate
the snap rings that hold the steering universals in place. Quickly found
that after plating, they could not be closed sufficiently to place them
without structural failure. Since we were on a tight schedule, I did not
attempt to bake out this problem and the blued rings went in, with no
failures. As I remember the requirement, it takes a minimum of 60 minutes
at over 200 degrees to get the hydrogen to migrate to the surface and
dissipate, but I'd look for expert advise if I were plating thin or spring
steel components.
Tom
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