Chroming plastics is possible through metallization or chemical plating, both requiring thorough preparation and electroplating with nickel and chromium. Metallization involves spraying a conductive layer of silver or aluminum paint, with silver being more expensive. Chrome-plated plastic offers advanced protection and is useful in industries such as automotive and toy manufacturing.
Chroming plastics is a more complex process than chroming metals, but it is a viable process that produces a protective, bright, hard finish that is aesthetically pleasing. A recent development in the plating industry involves spraying a conductive layer of a specially formulated silver or aluminum paint onto a piece of plastic in a process called metallization. Silver paint is very expensive, between $175 and $200 US dollars (USD) for an 8-ounce (224-gram) container. Aluminum base paint is considerably less expensive at $75 to $100 USD for a 10-ounce (284-gram) container. Whichever method of metallization is used, the coating is conductive enough to allow the piece to be treated like a normal piece of metal in the chroming process.
Chromium plating evolved as a process of applying a very thin layer of chromium to a metal surface, usually by immersing the object to be coated in a special bath which must be kept heated, agitated and charged with an electric current. Chromium is present in the bath as chromic acid and when an electric current passes through the bath to the workpiece, the chromium migrates from the bath to the workpiece, binding to it. Most chrome items are actually plated with copper first and then nickel before the chrome itself is plated. This process, also called electroplating, works because the metal piece conducts electricity. Until the metallization process was developed, items made of non-conductive materials such as plastics and fiberglass generally could not be electroplated. Chroming plastics using the metallization approach generally requires that the metallized object be electroplated first with nickel and only then with chromium.
Another method of plastic chrome plating is called chemical plating. This system uses a chemical bath, like galvanic; unlike electroplating, however, it does not use an electric current to deposit the chromium on the piece. In chemical plating, the chemical bath contains reducing agents that break down molecules of an alloy, which then reform on the part. Chemical plating is typically used for nickel plating, whereby a standard chrome plate can be applied to the plastic part in a conventional electroplating bath.
Chrome-plated plastic offers advanced corrosion and weather protection, and plastic or other non-conductive surfaces such as fiberglass look virtually identical to metal pieces that have been electroplated with chrome. Reliable and cost-effective methods for chroming plastics are significant advances for many industries, especially the automotive and toy manufacturing industries. However, these systems require just as much work and time: plastic parts must be prepared as thoroughly as their metal counterparts before plating. Poor prep work and cutting corners in the process will result in poor quality finished products.
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