Electroless nickel plating

[Andrew TinsleyParticipant @andrewtinsley63637]

I am trying to make up the solution recommended in Electroplating by J Poynter (Workshop Practice Series No 11).

In the recipe, one of the chemicals is sodium acetate crystals. However in the text it is referred to as sodium hydroxyacetate. The latter has one extra oxygen atom than the former in their anhydrous forms. At first I thought that the hydroxyacetate was simply the hydrated form (trihydrate) of sodium acetate, but this seems not to be the case!

So is there a chemist on the forum that knows which one of these is correct for electroless platting?

Andrew.

[Dick HParticipant @dickh]

I think, either should work, it is part of the buffering system to set the pH and try to keep it constant. The extra hydroxy functionality in the sodium hydroxyacetate should just adjust the pH of the buffer.

[Andrew TinsleyParticipant @andrewtinsley63637]

Thanks Dick,

I hope you are correct, as sodium acetate is cheap and plentiful while sodium hydroxyacetate is very expensive and rare!

In the description of the process, it is said that sodium hydroxide solution should be added to maintain a pH of between 4 and 6. so maybe the buffering properties need to be watched during deposition.

Andrew.

[FulmenParticipant @fulmen]

I wouldn’t count on it. You kinda made the point for me, one is cheap and the other is not. If they could do with the cheaper one they probably would. But in the end there is only one way to find out, just don’t make up buckets of the stuff before testing it.

The parent compound, Glycolic acid is used in the textile industry for dyeing and tanning. If that is more accessible it won’t be much work neutralizing it with soda.

[SillyOldDufferModerator @sillyoldduffer]

Really annoying because I have Nickel plating on my TODO list, and this would help me too.  Found a website saying Sodium Hydroxyacetate is a Brightener.  Less efficient and more expensive than Sodium Acetate, but it lays down an even smoother highly polished surface.

Followed that gem by looking at a few useless websites and then the phone rang.  My ex wished to discuss family xmas, bah humbug. Ab hour later, finally back at the computer, now I can’t find the website.   Memory wiped.  Man From Porlock all over again!

For what it’s worth, unless I dreamt it, Sodium Acetate is the usual chemical.  Hydroxyacetate is for shiny specials.

Dave

 

[Andrew TinsleyParticipant @andrewtinsley63637]

I wish to build up a worn steel component. Not easy to make a replacement. The electroless nickel plating gives a Vickers hardness of 550 which can be increased to around 900 by simple heat treatment and so is ideal for my requirement. Not in the least bothered about the appearance, so hopefully the sodium acetate will suffice if Dave’s memory is correct.

I will be setting up the equipment over Christmas, so a trial with the sodium acetate will be first priority.

Andrew.

[John HaineParticipant @johnhaine32865]

I’ve previously posted on here about a product called Niculoy that we used on some aluminium components – but I can’t find a supplier now (used to be RS).

A friend needed to build up the bore of a worn carburettor cylinder.  He thoroughly cleaned it and applied JB weld, allowed to cure thoroughly, then carefully bored to fit the piston.  Might that be an alternative?  Or there are epoxy compounds formulated to build up machine tool sliding surfaces.

[Andrew TinsleyParticipant @andrewtinsley63637]

Hello John,

For my application JB weld or Turcite would not last 5 minutes. don’t ask how I know! Nicasil is a trade name for a type of electroless nickel. However I have been unable to source small quantities.

Andrew.

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