Electroless Nickel plating

"Electroless nickel plating is a chemical reduction process which depends upon the catalytic reduction process of nickel ions in an aqueous solution (containing a chemical reducing agent) and the subsequent deposition of nickel metal without the use of electrical energy."

I had my front end parts EN plated this weekend. Amazing results that can be further polished for a higher gloss. I think I'll leave them as is..........it looks just like stainless steel. All front end parts plated for $260.
Picture on right is before.

 

Do you have any idea what chemical they use for EN? I saw it doen once, the juice is green like coolaid. Love the color of nickel, better then chrome! $260 sounds pretty good.

 

Let me preface this by saying I only know about this process from what I have read. EN is an alloy of 10-12% phosphorus in nickel.
Since the coating is deposited 'chemically' rather than electrically, the problems usually associated with electroplating (uneven thickness etc.) are typically avoided. EN guarantees 100% coverage.
That's about all I know.

 

http://www.corrosion-doctors.org/MetalCoatings/Electroless.htm

I foung this link and its pretty informative

 

Electroless nickel does NOT look like regular old dipped nickel. On polished parts it looks more like stainless. Pretty cool look, but maybe not the same as what you're thinking of.

I was thinking about doing everything that would normally be chrome with electroless, then we started getting good deals on regular nickel plating from our local (3 hour drive) chrome shop, so I dunno. May still use electroless.

 

That looks great and the price ain't bad either. Thanks for the info. Mike

 

Is this something that could be done at home,
without killing yourself,or going broke ?

 

Here you go Unkl,

http://www.caswellplating.com/kits/electroless.htm

 

You're right hillbillyhell, maybe a little more gold color. The electrical terminal industry uses EN because it is much cheaper and because of the consistant coverage. If I remember right, the juice was heated to a given temp., and the amount of time determined the thickness. Electrical terminals got like .00002- .00005 thckness, just enough to keep brass or copper contacts from tarnishing.I'd think the problem with doing it at home would be is buying the chemicals. Thanks for the links, I need to read them.

 

Not to mention, with the quotes I've gotten to have it done, it makes very little sense. I spoke with a place in Charlotte NC that does mostly industrial stuff. I explained what I was doing (front axle, hairpins, tons of misc brackets) and that it would arrive polished and ready to plate. The guy told me I might want to add more stuff since they have a $75 minimum charge!

 

If you have the means to deal with the waste.
If you have all the right equipment to polish to the standard of finish you want with out using greased abrasives.
(Greased abrasives screw up the bond.)
If you have the right pre-cleaning chemistry,
If you have the respirators or fume extraction.
Electroless Nickel plating is normally done at around 160 to 180 degrees F.
It can be nickel/phosporous or nickel/cobalt (bluer in color)
The vapors can cause pulmonary edema.
4 out of 10 cases of pulmonary edema die before they even get to hospital.
Caswells will not advise you of these drawbacks.

Done properly electroless nickel is beautiful.
It is normally much harder than electroplated nickel but is not as bright.
Chemistry to establish a decent sized tank is expensive.

 

Very nice, I like something different.