What Causes Chrome Plating to Rust?
1 Answers
Because the plating has a certain thickness, if it is corroded or accidentally scratched, the protective layer is lost, and the underlying material will rust. In terms of rust resistance, zinc plating (passivation) performs better. Zinc plating is a typical anti-rust electroplating layer, widely used in engineering, such as outdoor transmission towers, highway guardrails, automotive parts, and daily hardware metal components. Below is more information about chrome plating: 1. Advantages of Hard Chrome Plating: Hard chrome plating is a traditional surface electroplating technology that has been in use for over 70 years. The chrome plating layer is hard, wear-resistant, corrosion-resistant, and maintains a bright surface for a long time, with relatively simple processes and low costs. For a long time, chrome plating has not only been used as a decorative coating but also widely as a wear-resistant and corrosion-resistant coating for mechanical parts. Hard chrome plating technology is often used to repair damaged components. 2. Disadvantages of Hard Chrome Plating: The hard chrome plating process can cause serious environmental issues. The chromic acid solution used in chrome plating produces chromic acid mist and wastewater, and there are other drawbacks, such as: the hardness is generally 800~900HV, which is lower than some ceramics and cermet materials, and the hardness decreases with rising temperature; the chrome plating layer has micro-cracks, and unavoidable penetrating cracks can lead to corrosion media penetrating from the surface to the interface, corroding the substrate and causing rust spots or even peeling on the plating surface.
