Electroplating continued coatings

Nowadays, however, zinc-coated steel sheets, either continuously galvanised or electroplated, are often used as a basis material for overcoating with plastic materials or paints. The coatings are usually applied continuously and have a range of uses both externally and internally. Many surface finishes are obtainable, e.g. plain or embossed, and in an extensive range of colours, to suit almost any requirement . 

Specification for electroplated coatings of 65/35 tin/nickel alloy Method for the evaluation of results of accelerated corrosion tests on metallic coatings Methods of test for paints Cross-cut test Pull-off test for adhesion Resistance to artificial weathering (enclosed carbon arc) and Addendum No. 1 Resistance to continuous salt spray Notes for guidance on the conduct of natural weathering test... 

Typically, coatings most often in use as intermediate layers are silver, nickel, copper, and gold however, silver is used by far the most often. This is so because of the low dissociation temperature of silver oxide, making it relatively easy to obtain clean surfaces. Also, the typical thickness range of electroplates used, in practice, for diffusion welding is about 15 to 40/rm, but thicknesses as great as 130 )um must sometimes be used. A considerable variety of steel types as well as aluminum and a host of other difficult-to-join metals and even beryllium have been and continue to be diffusion bonded with the use of electroplated intermediate layers. 

The process has been continuously improved [71] but so far a breakthrough in the application of electroplated aluminum is still pending. The problem is the price, compared to zinc coatings. Electroplated aluminum is more expensive than zinc by a factor of 3 to 5. Therefore, electroplated aluminum is restricted to some high-tech applications, for example, special optical surfaces. As a corrosion-protective coating, the material is not yet an alternative to the established systems. 

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