Nickel Plating – A Popular Choice
Nickel plating is the process of coating base metals with nickel. The main procedure used is known as electroplating. Basically, this involves the use of electrical current to coat an object with a thin layer of another material such as gold and nickel. When you perform electroplating, in this case using nickel, you bestow the characteristics of the added material to the base material. In other words, the process allows you to make an object look and feel like it is made of nickel even if it is not. Although in some instances, electroplating is used to increase the thickness of a particular objet.
Adding a nickel plate is by no means an easy task. It can prove to be a challenge just to ensure that the added nickel has a uniform thickness and it does not help that many objects that are to be nickel plated have irregular shapes and sizes. As a favorite plating material, nickel tends to be deposited heavily on external corners and protruding areas of an object, while it is difficult to deposit in internal corners. To compensate for this drawback, master craftsmen use anodes or terminals that are shaped according to the object that needs to be nickel plated. But it must be pointed out that using these specialized anodes can drive up costs.
Still, nickel is one of the most popular materials used in electroplating. Just like gold, it can give any object a very attractive appearance. As a matter of fact, nickel plating can overlay imperfections found on the surface of base metals. For best results, a very thin layer of chrome is also added to ensure that the brilliant appearance of a nickel plated object will not wear out easily. For total protection against corrosion, craftsmen also use two different varieties of nickel. This process is known as duplex nickel plating.
The most extensive use for nickel can be found in the automotive industry. Because of this metal’s durability, it is used for plating wheels, bumpers, and even decorative exhausts. Car restoration also makes heavy use of nickel plating. Whenever you see bright metal finish in motorcycles and even bicycles, it is a good bet that there is nickel plating involved. Indeed, whenever you want to achieve that bright metallic finish, you can rely on nickel plating to do the trick. But more than just the appearance that it provides, nickel is also known to last longer than other metals.
