HOW ELECTROPLATING WORKS
Mechanically attach gold to other metals through heating metals and placing them together then rapidly cooling the combination. This was hammered into shape for statues, books and many other artifacts.
Modern gold plating, called gold electroplating, relies on a chemical process to combine various layers of metal into a solid piece with a layer of gold resting on the surface. Electroplating has been in use commercially since the 1840s and was heavily refined during the two World Wars.
In all gold plating, the part is polished and cleaned as thoroughly as possible before the electroplating process starts. Gold plating will look uneven and smudged if the surface is dirty, oily, scratched or otherwise damaged.
Modern electroplating begins with the creation of a metal salt using the plating metal, typically gold or silver. These salts are formed when an acid and a base combine and create a neutralization reaction. Metal salts are formed when positively charged ions of a metal are combined with an acid or with a non-metal. This salt is then placed in water and mixed together to form the “bath” for your component.
The component you’re plating is immersed in this bath and an electric current is applied to it. The current is directed to the component and dissolves the metal salts as it moves through the bath. Gold molecules ride the current and are deposited onto your component.
How long the component is left in its bath typically determines the thickness of the plating.
When you get gold plating done, there are decades of clean and refined practices behind you.
ELECTROPLATING
Gold plating can be added to almost any metal, including brass, copper or nickel. Silver items can also be gold-plated.
Some pieces will actually be plated with a wide range of metals even if you can only see the gold plating. If you have a silver component, for example, it will first be plated with copper because copper will make the plating tarnish slower. Then a plate of nickel will be added to improve the bond and strengthen the barrier.
This means that component will actually be a composition of silver, copper and nickel substrate layers with a final gold layer added on top.
Some newer methods involve using titanium nitride down as a rough layer, and then gold is electro-deposited into the roughness of this layer. This method gives a very full gold color but adds extra protection and a much longer lifespan to the gold plating.
For more information, please feel free to contact us chloralkali@tiaano.com or visit our webpage www.tianode.com
Will share our credentials (client list, performance certificate, etc.) based on email request.
Ti Anode Fabricators Pvt. Ltd.
No. 48, Noothanchary, Madambakkam,
Chennai - 600 126, I N D I A.
Email: chloralkali@tiaano.com Web: www.tianode.com
cf640738-c441-4e2e-a79e-ced81d356504|0|.0|27604f05-86ad-47ef-9e05-950bb762570c