It’s hard to believe that in the last 10 years, advancements are still being made to Trichrome plating. The most recent of those advancements is the liquid Trichrome additive. It is a consistent, wetter package and has a blue coloring to it. Even with these advances Trichrome plating is more finicky than say, a Hex Chrome.
These advancements don’t come without their own set of issues. The most common are dark smudges and poor coverage. When you experience one or both of these issues there are a number of possible causes and several proven procedures which will help you resolve the issues.
Dark Smudges
Possible Causes | Remedies |
Metallic contamination | Run ion exchange |
Low TC regulator | Add 1 gallon/1000 gal TC regulator |
Low specific gravity | Add TC chrome |
Low conductivity salts | Add per lab analysis |
Low TC stabilizer | Add per lab analysis |
Contaminated nickel plated surfaces | Improve post nickel rinses, delay plating 30 seconds in Trichrome |
Organic contamination | Carbon treat per lab |
Poor air agitation | Increase air volume and replace or adjust air lines |
Poor Coverage
Possible Causes | Remedies |
Low TC corrector | Add 1-2 gal/1000 gal TC corrector |
Low specific gravity | Check and adjust TC chrome |
Low conductivity salts | Adjust per lab |
Low current density | Increase applies current 20-40% |
Zinc or lead contamination | Run ion exchange or dummy 20-40 ASF |
High temperature | Reduce to 85-90 F |
High air agitation | Reduce air flow |
Poor electrical contact | Check rectifier, bussing and anodes |
Pssible Causes | Remedies |