Years ago zinc plating was used for corrosion protection and was mainly applied using a cyanide based process. The process of plating zinc from an Acid Bath brought with it brighter deposit and Zinc Plating became a cosmetic finish as well as corrosion protective finish. In recent years the process of plating Zinc from an Alkaline Non Cyanide solution has been perfected. Today nearly all Zinc is plated from either the Acid Zinc or the Alkaline Non Cyanide processes.
Each process has its positive and negative points. Acid Zinc produces a bright, level, Chrome like finish. The Alkaline Non Cyanide is not quite as Lustrous but will also plate bright. The Acid Zinc process is made up of sodium chloride “table salt” and as such has a corrosive effect on the equipment and the building. Alkaline Non Cyanide Zinc is made up of caustic soda and does not corrode the equipment. Acid Zinc has a large distribution ratio where the Alkaline Zinc plates around 1 to 1 ½ from the high to low current density.
This makes the Alkaline Zinc more attractive when coverage of the low current areas is important. The grain structure of the Acid Zinc is Laminar (layered) where the Alkaline Zinc is columer (columns), thus the Alkaline Zinc takes the chromate process better. There are additional pros and con’s to each process however, both deposit a corrosive resistant layer of Zinc on the steel part.
Asterion has several versions of both the Acid Zinc and the Alkaline Non Cyanide Zinc to choose from. Each of the processes has thousands of gallons being run with many years of operating experience.