phasing out chrome plating

[paco]

orking in a engineering business and also restoring/ repairing bikes I like to be prepared. been talking with the plating shops we use, mainly for anodizing, they tell me that chrome is being phased out by the EU by 2014. platers that have supplies can still use them until 2014, no more supplies will be made.
this will rule out decorative chrome (the thin version), normal deep chrome (bars, levers etc) , Anodizing with di-chromate passivating, and possibly alochrom. dont know yet if Zinc or tin plating will be affected but the best, deep chrome will be missing.
Anyone with S&T or Doug Taylor contacts or even Philpott (pitted forks) have a solution to future needschaz.wheeler

I spotted this report on the Ariel owners club forum;What happens there will no doubt happen here.p

  
Posts: 28
Joined: Sun Jul 15, 2012 7:37 am
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[jimg1au]

hay paco do you have ariels
jim

[Freakshow]

where not in the EU

[firko]

where not in the EU

I bet it's on the cards though. A friend of mine ran Star Plating in Carlton (Sydney) which was a good little business with a niche market in the hot rod/chopper industry. When the new emission regulations came in a few years ago he found that he'D have to outlay a ridiculous amount to revamp the business to comply with the new regulations. He had two choices, comply or close down so not having the finances to upgrade he took the latter option. At around the same time chrome platers all over Ausrtralia closed down and the remaining ones increased their prices alarmingly to cover the new toxin disposal system and other upgrades they were forced to invest in. My mate was told that unless the processes involved in chrome plating aren't drastically changed over the next few years, metal plating will more than likely be a thing of the past. Like most people I brushed that bit of news aside but Pacos post reminded me of my friends situation. Get your plating done before our wonderful greenies put pressure on our government to follow suit with the EU.

There are alternatives though.
http://dna-paints.com/specialpaints/virtualchrome/prodinfo.htm
http://www.alsacorp.com/
http://www.kustomrides.com/chromepaint.html
                                                                         

[paco]

Yes Jim,I have a 1949 Ariel NH 350 red hunter.p

[35elsinore]

So what will happen to hard chroming for hydraulic shafts etc.[ eg.industrial rams for loaders, diggers and every other hydraulic system] I cant imagine it stopping altogether.

[firko]

It won't go altogether but it may just be a bit more expensive.

[Nathan S]

The local plater told me that "real chrome is dead" about three years ago. They've been using an alternative (some sort of Nickel?)

I'm more worried about the hard chrome stuff.

[Brian Watson]

I was looking for someone to re-zinc some nuts/bolts etc for a resto..and came across guys in WA that do "electroless" nickel..they claim to be harder than "traditional" hard chroming... no limit to the amount that can be deposited onto a piece etc..supossed to have extra "lubricating" properties also...looks good on their web site...Anyone tried it..?? Expensive??..

[smed]

And there website is?

[crash n bern]

Looks like everyone will have to send their chrome to China to get done.

[Freakshow]

YEp the chinese will do it no matter what, and make a fortune

[Brian Watson]

www.aaep.com.au    what attracted my attention was the anodising...showed an alloy speedway tank that had been coated...then read thru the site and saw the EN

[tony27]

I was looking for someone to re-zinc some nuts/bolts etc for a resto..and came across guys in WA that do "electroless" nickel..they claim to be harder than "traditional" hard chroming... no limit to the amount that can be deposited onto a piece etc..supossed to have extra "lubricating" properties also...looks good on their web site...Anyone tried it..?? Expensive??..

We use it on certain types of moulds for a couple of customers, normally for tooling for PVC etc which is very corrosive. Thickness of plating isn't an issue unlike hard chrome but I'm pretty sure it's not as hard, doesn't seem to chip off sharp edges like hard chrome either

[GMC]

I was looking for someone to re-zinc some nuts/bolts etc for a resto..and came across guys in WA that do "electroless" nickel..they claim to be harder than "traditional" hard chroming...

From my limited understanding of it all, electroless Nickel is applied by heat instead of, well, electrodes.
I wouldn’t imagine the process would make the nickel any harder than Nickel applied with electrodes and I can’t imagine it would replace Hard Chroming.
There are a couple of places that do it over here and the quotes I have had from one of them is expensive.

Nickel is usually a bit softer which makes it less likely to chip like chrome does (decorative or hard)

Electroless Nickel will get into the nooks and cranny’s of a frame unlike normal nickel. I am also under the impression that electroless Nickel does not cause Hydrogen embrittlement.

While we need to look after the environment and all that this is just another case of making manufacturing in this country uncompetitive.
If we really wanted to look after the environment we would ban any plating from countries that don’t uphold the same environmental restrictions, but it doesn’t matter if the environment is damaged elsewhere, just so long as we are seen to be looking after it at home.