Selective plating
Masking also known as ” selective plating ” is an added value service that we provide. This process allows you to ” select ” an area on a part that you want to prevent plating on due to critical tolerances or for other functioning reasons, and yet still plate the rest of the part to meet the required spec. An example of this would be external threads which are often masked in heavier deposit plating applications to prevent the oversizing of the threads. Other examples of masking are the plugging of blind holes to prevent entrapped solutions, masking areas that need to be welded post plate, and or parts that have very tight tolerances on mating parts like bearings and shafts.
At Lustrous, we offer a wide variety of ways to mask parts, peelable maskants / paints, specialized plating tapes, plugs, and caps. Custom racking and masking are available. At CEP we have over 65 years of plating knowledge and experience. Let our team help your team come up with the best solutions and best practices for your parts!
Selective Plating Process:
1. A maskant is applied that provides consistent application and thickness. It is strongly adherent to base substrate, chemically resistant to the electroplating process, and easily removable using chemistries.
2. The components are electroplated to the desired thickness. The maskant, inhibits metal deposition in those areas. The electrodeposit will be accepted where there is exposed metal.
3. The remaining maskant is removed from the parts
Our selective electroplating process is unique in the industry. We’ve spent many years developing and perfecting its elements. It is also a very productive process. Using our tools and ability to in-house engineer parts handling equipment, we can achieve very high production rates.