Plastic Chrome
Chrome is short for chromium, one of the naturally-occurring metallic elements.
It is hard, silver in color, and extremely resistant to wear and corrosion; in addition, chrome is easy to clean and maintain, and can be buffed to a highly lustrous finish.
All of these qualities have made chrome a popular material for electroplated finishes, particularly in the automotive industry.
Many materials can be plated with chrome, such as brass, aluminum, steel, stainless steel, and more, but one of the most common materials for chrome-plated automotive parts and accessories is ABS plastic.
Plastics have advantages over metals in some instances, because they are light and flexible, and easy to fabricate.
However, plastic cannot achieve the desired high-quality, lustrous finish of metal, which is a disadvantage for some applications, such as the automotive industry.
It was discovered that electroplating would impart to the plastic components the desired aesthetic qualities, ease of cleaning and resistance to corrosion of solid metal.
Thus, the finished components had all the advantageous qualities of both plastic and chrome.
Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene copolymer, or ABS plastic, is currently the most popular material for automotive accessories.
Typically, electroplating takes place when an object, or substrate, is submerged in a chemical bath which has particles of the plating material suspended in it.
An electrical current is passed through the substrate, and the opposite current is passed through the bath, which charges the metallic ions and causes them to adhere to the substrate.
The problem with electroplating non-metallic substrates is that they aren't as electrically conductive, and therefore can't be plated in the same fashion.
To overcome this problem, the surface of the plastic is micro-etched with chromic acid solution, which, when combined with the technique of electroless plating, provided a highly conductive plating layer with satisfactory adhesion to the substrate.
It is hard, silver in color, and extremely resistant to wear and corrosion; in addition, chrome is easy to clean and maintain, and can be buffed to a highly lustrous finish.
All of these qualities have made chrome a popular material for electroplated finishes, particularly in the automotive industry.
Many materials can be plated with chrome, such as brass, aluminum, steel, stainless steel, and more, but one of the most common materials for chrome-plated automotive parts and accessories is ABS plastic.
Plastics have advantages over metals in some instances, because they are light and flexible, and easy to fabricate.
However, plastic cannot achieve the desired high-quality, lustrous finish of metal, which is a disadvantage for some applications, such as the automotive industry.
It was discovered that electroplating would impart to the plastic components the desired aesthetic qualities, ease of cleaning and resistance to corrosion of solid metal.
Thus, the finished components had all the advantageous qualities of both plastic and chrome.
Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene copolymer, or ABS plastic, is currently the most popular material for automotive accessories.
Typically, electroplating takes place when an object, or substrate, is submerged in a chemical bath which has particles of the plating material suspended in it.
An electrical current is passed through the substrate, and the opposite current is passed through the bath, which charges the metallic ions and causes them to adhere to the substrate.
The problem with electroplating non-metallic substrates is that they aren't as electrically conductive, and therefore can't be plated in the same fashion.
To overcome this problem, the surface of the plastic is micro-etched with chromic acid solution, which, when combined with the technique of electroless plating, provided a highly conductive plating layer with satisfactory adhesion to the substrate.