Get in touch at sales@silchrome.co.uk or visit us in Leeds

0113 263 7808

Metal Finishing Services

Silchrome Plating provide Zinc Plating with Clear, Yellow, Black, Olive Drab and Trivalent Passivation. We can also offer JS500 Coating used as a topcoat.

 

What is Zinc Plating?

Zinc Plating is one of the most widely used processes to extend part life and improve a component's resistance to corrosion and wear. It is a thin sacrificial coating that can be sealed through passivation. It is popular due to its low cost and is available in Clear, Blue, Yellow, Black and Olive Drab passivates.We also offer Trivalent Passivation which will have an irredescent blue appearance. Download our free guide HERE.

What is the Process?

Zinc Plating is an electro-plating technique in which parts are placed into a vat containing an electrolytic solution and a current is run into the bath promoting the build-up of the Zinc onto the component. In order to obtain the best possible results, parts will first be subject to a number of pre-treatments depending on their material which are all carried out in house.

Zinc Plated items then undergo Passivation. The Passivation Process that follows Zinc Plating is a Chromate Conversion and will actually convert the metal surface into a complex mixture of Chromium compounds which will oxidise into a barrier layer. This coupled with the Zinc will provide the desirable attributes of corrosion and wear protection.

Traditionally this Chromate Conversion utilised a substance known as Hexavalent Chromium, however this substance is a known carcinogen meaning it is bad for the environment and for our staff. As such we have started to offer Zinc Plating which utilises a Trivalent Chromium solution instead, which will provide the same performance as before but enables us to meet REACH criteria. Currently we still offer both Hexavalent and Trivalent solutions. 

What are the Advantages?

Zinc Plating offers a good level of corrosion resistance for its cost. It is suitable for combatting the effects of oxygen and water but will not perform well in chemically corrosive environments. In order to improve the corrosion resistance properties, Zinc plated components are passivated and sealed and we can also offer de-embrittlement where needed.

Zinc Plating produces a coating that has high levels of protection in comparison to its thin nature. This makes it a popular choice for smaller sized components such as machined screws and threaded parts. Due to its low cost and versatility a number of steel parts used in civil engineering projects are actually Zinc Plated/Galvanised.

Specifications Offered:

BS1706:1990, BS3382:Part 2, ASTM B633, ISO2081:1996, BS EN12329:2000, DEF STAN 03-20

What We Offer

Silchrome Plating are able to provide Zinc Plating as well as associated pre and post plating processes including polishing. We are able to facilitate a wide range of production volumes and can accommodate parts up to 2 metres in length as well as having a barrel plating facility for smaller components.

We currently offer Passivation that utilises either Hexavalent Chrome or Trivalent Chrome, but anticipate in the future, in order to comply to environmental standards we may only be able to offer Trivalent based Passivation moving forward.

Silchrome Offer the following Passivates: Clear (also called Blue) Yellow (also called Gold), Black, Olive Drab and Trivalent (which is irridescent Blue in tone)

To further improve the corrosion resistance of components, Silchrome are a licensed provider of JS500 coating, popular in the automotive industry.

All our processes are carried in house at our production facility in Leeds and Silchrome Plating are IS0 9001 AND ISO 14001 approved. 

zinc plating clear,blue,trivalentzinc plating yellow gold passivatezinc electro-plating and passivate

 

  • The official logo for the Surface Engineering Association.
  • The official logos for the ISOQAR and UKAS industry regulatory bodies.
  • The official logo for the Institute of Materials Finishing.
  • The official logos for the ISOQAR and UKAS industry regulatory bodies.