Zinc plating is known as the “work horse” of metallic coatings. It is the most economical and commonly used finish to protect steel parts from corrosion. The bluish white metal, when electro-deposited with appropriate chemicals and brighteners, produces a soft ductile decorative finish. Most fastenings and hardware parts we come across in our daily life are Zinc plated. When exposed to the environment, the Zinc oxidises first thereby becoming a sacrificial layer and therefore protects the base metal from corrosion.

For additional corrosion protection a layer of chromates is applied over the Zinc. Chromate films are very thin and add no measurable thickness to the overall coating. Chromates can be applied in many colours with clear silver and yellow being the most popular.  Corrosion protection can be enhanced further by applying various top coats

Wear Protection: Zinc plating bestows an increased surface hardness on the item with the finished hardness (100g HV) ranging between 80-150HV. Zinc is beneficial where items must retain their original appearance for many years.

Value Added Services: Zinc plating can be used as a final finish or as a base for post-treatments. Additional treatments can be applied to complement the primary finish such as clear or coloured lacquering, oil seals, wax silicate finishes, leach and seal systems or wax emulsions dosed with corrosion inhibitors. Post treatment applications can be applied for functional or aesthetic purposes.

Rack Zinc

Acid Zinc is our speciality with 3 large automated rack lines (Max plate window 3.6x1.6x7). We offer the largest Acid Zinc plating capacity in the UK. The Acid Zinc process provides a combination of excellent throwing power and fast plating rate. High cathode efficiency of the solutions makes it an ideal process to plate cast iron and high carbon steels. Solutions reduce the possibility of hydrogen embrittlement of the hardened steel components and produce a bright durable finish
Alkline Zinc provides excellent throwing power, superior ductility and uniform plating distribution. It eliminates the risk of excessive zinc build up on high current density areas (sharp edges) producing a high ductile finish, free from blistering and flakes.
Barrel Zinc provides the ability to mass finish the smaller items such as nuts, bolts, small pressings and turned parts. This cost effective method utilises large cylindrical barrels. The porous barrels allow the plating to reach the parts placed in it.

Birmingham Plating Co Ltd specialise in Rack Zinc plating services but we also welcome all Barrel plating enquiries. All Barrel work is sub contracted to IONIC METAL TREATMENTS