whatisbronzing

What is bronzing?

Basically this is How it Happens

The procedure used when any non-conductive item entails thorough cleaning, smoothing and repairing of any cracks and scratches.

The items are then covered with a special conductive gold coating and allowed to dry.

Areas that don't require plating can be left uncoated with a special non-conductive paint applied to prevent the plating from occurring in that area.

1. Every item that is sent in for electroplating is evaluated to determine exactly what process will be used. This is decided predominantly by the type of material the quality and condition of the surface.

2. The item maybe stripped using a caustic or solvent mix to remove any paint or other unwanted debris from the surface. Once again this is decided predominantly by the type of material

3. After stripping, the components are checked for damage and repaired where necessary. This includes filling gaps or reconstructing missing parts- This is a huge job for some items.

4. Any areas which do not require plating are then carefully masked off with a tape.

5. Electrodes are placed to ensure an even coating across the plating surface. Placement is critical to protect against build-ups in some areas and an uneven finish overall

6. The parts are now coated with three layers of primer to ensure adhesion of the conductive paint to applied later. (Both the primer and the conductive paint are formulated in-house)

7. After the primer is allowed to dry overnight, three coats of conductive paints are then applied and given 24 hours to dry completely.

8. The components are then placed into a copper plating tank for eight to nine hours where it is gently agitated to obtain an even coating of copper that's 50-250 microns thick, depending upon material and application.

9. The next step is to place it in the nickel tank for approximately one hour to achieve a coating of nickel 20-30 microns thick.

10. The thinnest layer is actually the chrome itself, which is added as the last step in the process.

NOTE:
The finished items look every bit as good as it would have when first produced, and is a huge improvement on the pitted and faded parts which were sent in originally .