When it comes to protecting your vehicle from corrosion, few things beat zinc-nickel plating. Cadmium used to be the standard used in plating, but zinc-nickel has proven to be better for the environment as well as being safer to apply, as cadmium can be toxic. Zinc nickel plating near me is also very durable and bears up well under such conditions as salt spray and the Kesternich testing. This is a test that uses sulfur dioxide to test how well a protective covering resists corrosion. Zinc nickel plating is an alloy, which means that the metals are mixed and zinc is not simply layered over nickel.
Other Benefits of Zinc Nickel Plating
There are several benefits to zinc nickel plating near me besides corrosion resistance. The alloy is uniform and free of blisters when it’s applied. You can bond rubber to it, and it can be applied to moving parts, including parts of your car’s engine. Since the plating resists salt spray, it’s excellent to apply to the undercarriage of your vehicle, which may come in contact with the spray from salt spread on roads in the winter.
The zinc in the alloy is sacrificial, which means that any rust or corrosion has to attack it first before penetrating to the metal of your car. You’ll be able to tell this is happening when the plating starts to discolor. Depending on the type of zinc nickel finish, the coating’s color can range from a beautiful blue to iridescent to a lustrous black.
