| Pre-Treatment Solutions Required to Activate Surface of Metal |
Is the metal Magnetic? |
| Metal Type |
Step 1 Pretreatment |
Step 2 Pretreatment |
Step 3 Diffusion Barrier |
Step 4 Final Plate |
|
| Stainless Steel |
Electro-cleaner |
Wood’s Nickel Strike or TriVal Gold Strike
|
N/A |
Final Desired Plating Solution |
YES |
| Carbon Steel / Steel |
Electro-cleaner |
Copper Strike, Wood's Nickel Strike, or TriVal Gold Strike
|
Bright Nickel or Palladium
|
Final Desired Plating Solution |
YES |
| Chrome |
Chrome Stripper in proper mode |
Surface Activator |
N/A |
Final Desired Plating Solution |
Chrome is not, but the Nickel under is |
| Nickel & Palladium |
Electro-cleaner |
Surface Activator |
N/A |
Final Desired Plating Solution |
Nickel - YES Palladium - NO |
| Bronze |
Electro-cleaner |
Surface Activator |
Bright Nickel |
Final Desired Plating Solution |
NO |
| Copper, Brass, Silver, German Silver |
Electro-cleaner |
Surface Activator |
Bright Nickel or Palladium
|
Final Desired Plating Solution |
NO |
| Tin |
Electro-cleaner |
Copper Strike |
Bright Nickel or Palladium
|
Final Desired Plating Solution |
NO |
| Pewter |
Electro-cleaner |
Copper Strike |
Bright Nickel or Palladium
|
Final Desired Plating Solution |
NO |
| Lead |
Electro-cleaner |
Surface Activator |
N/A |
Final Desired Plating Solution |
NO |
| Solder |
Electro-cleaner |
Surface Activator, Copper Strike if tin-based |
Bright Nickel or Palladium
|
Final Desired Plating Solution |
NO |
| Zinc plated steel |
Strip Zinc, then Electro-cleaner
|
Copper Strike or Wood's Nickel Strike
|
Bright Nickel or Palladium
|
Final Desired Plating Solution |
YES |
| Zinc Die Cast |
Electro-Cleaner |
Copper Strike |
Bright Nickel or Palladium
|
Final Desired Plating Solution |
NO |
| Inconel |
Electro-Cleaner |
TriVal Gold Strike |
N/A |
Final Desired Plating Solution |
NO |
| Cobalt |
|
|
|
|
YES |
| Iron |
Electro-Cleaner |
Copper Strike or Wood's Nickel Strike
|
Bright Nickel or Palladium
|
Final Desired Plating Solution |
YES |
| Tungsten & Tungsten Alloys |
The plating process may differ depending on tungsten purity. Tungsten Carbide cannot be plated with our chemicals or machines. Contact us at tech@goldplating.com for more information. |
NO |
| PVD |
Cannot plate onto PVD unless it has a specialized additive or coating. |
NO |
| Aluminum |
Can not perform at an amateur level. Please seek professional plating company to apply nickel onto aluminum for proper adhesion. Once nickel is applied correctly, follow pre-treatment recommendations. |
NO |
| Titanium |
Can not be plated onto with our solutions. |
NO |
|
Compounds and alloys can also be magnetic if they contain iron, cobalt, or nickel. |
