Liquid Development Co. 3748 E. 91st Street Cleveland, OH  44105 U.S.A. Phone: (216) 641-9366 Fax: (216) 641-6416 ldc@bblink.net

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W.R. Associates, Inc. 2210 Encinitas Blvd., #W Encinitas, CA  92024 U.S.A. Phone: (800) 348-3287 Fax: (760) 436-9321 coatings@wrainc.com

Headquarters: Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.A. (800) 321-9194

Vol. 1, No. 4     4th Quarter Review, 1997

LDC Nickel Solutions

This is the first in a series of articles. Our goal is to provide you with a succinct technical reference on LDC chemicals and products available, their features and uses. The article below outlines LDC's complete line of Nickel brush plating solutions. This will aid in your selection of the proper nickel for your application.

LDC-2800 Nickel S

Primary Use: Ideal for touch-up of electroless Nickel deposits (very similar in appearance). Pre-plate solution.
Solution Characteristics: Acid Nickel. Provides excellent adhesion to most base metals. Can be used for limited build-up applications even at ambient temperatures. Provides good corrosion protection at 0.002" thick or more.
Deposit Characteristics: Dense, low porosity coating.
Drawbacks: Very Strong odor. Passivates very quickly after water rinse, making adhesion of any top coat, which is not an acid, difficult.

LDC-2801 Nickel

Primary Use: Pre-plate solution. Excellent solution for pre-blaze applications.
Solution Characteristics: Acid Nickel. Excellent adhesion to most base materials. Thicker deposits can be applied when solution is heated to 120º-140º F. Provides good corrosion protection at deposits of 0.0002" thick or more.
Deposit Characteristics: Dense coating.
Drawbacks: Slower deposit rate than other LDC chemicals. Requires 18-20 volts.

LDC-2802 Nickel Alkaline

Primary Use: Pre-plate for base metals that are attacked by acid Nickel pre-plates. Effective alternative on porous Iron and Steel parts.
Solution Characteristics: Neutral to Alkaline pH based solution. Works at ambient temperature. Throws well into recessed corners.
Deposit Characteristics: Porous deposit.
Drawbacks: Does not build up. Provides poor corrosion protection.

LDC-2803 Nickel Hi-Speed

Primary Use: The most utilized brush plating solution world wide. Ideal for repairing worn and mis-machined parts. Porous deposit holds grease and other lubricants which is a great advantage for plated moving parts.
Solution Characteristics: Neutral pH. LDC's fastest depositing Nickel and the easiest and most inexpensive to use.
Deposit Characteristics: Hard wear resistant coating. Porous.
Drawbacks: Deposit can be brittle and stressed. Poor corrosion protection.

LDC-2804 Nickel (M)

Primary Use: Repair of injection molds involving parting lines and damaged or worn sharp external corners. Also works well on parts subjected to wear and/or high temperatures.
Solution Characteristics: Acid Nickel. Builds up at relatively high rate.
Deposit Characteristics: Fine grained, with maximum leveling and low stress.
Drawbacks: Slower plating than other acid solutions. Shorter useable life.

LDC-2805 Nickel Soft

Primary Use: Corrosion protection or as a good pre-blaze coating.
Solution Characteristics: Operates best when used at approximately 140ºF.
Deposit Characteristics: Low stress and low hardness.
Drawbacks: Very difficult to build up. Rendered obsolete with the development of LDC's line of Nickel Sulfamate solutions.

LDC-2806 Nickel Bright

Primary Use: Decorative Nickel
Solution Characteristics: Will work at room temperature, but operates best at 120º-140ºF.
Deposit Characteristics: When used correctly it will produce a thin bright, shiny deposit
Drawbacks: Deposits are very thin. Provides very little corrosion protection.

LDC-2807 Nickel Acid

Primary Use: New addition to the LDC line; this is a multi-use solution. Excellent for pre-blaze applications
Solution Characteristics: Requires only 10-12 volts to operate efficiently. LDC 's fastest plating acid solution
Deposit Characteristics: Similar to LDC-2801. Dense, excellent adhesion to many base metals
Drawbacks: More expensive than LDC-2801.

LDC-2808 Nickel EX

Primary Use: Designed for repairing mis-machined or worn parts.
Solution Characteristics: Neutral pH solution. Second fastest plating Nickel in LDC line.
Deposit Characteristics: Provides a fairy hard, wear resistant coating. Deposit is porous, similar to LDC-2803, but not as hard; seems to stay smooth longer than LDC-2803 as deposit becomes thicker.
Drawbacks: Less amp hours per gallon than 2803, thus more expensive.

LDC-2809 Black Nickel

Primary Use: Special application Nickel used for Decorative and Optical applications
Deposit Characteristics: Provides a dark gray to black deposit.
Drawbacks: Deposit color can be inconsistent.

LDC-2820 Nickel Sulfamate (soft)

Primary Use: Developed with two applications in mind: Aerospace quality low stressed deposits, and a nickel which was soft enough to allow single point machining. Improves brazing ability on many materials. Provides excellent corrosion resistance.
Solution Characteristics: Solution must be operated at 140º-160ºF, pumped continuously filtered to achieve desired qualities. LDC's porta-plating system was designed to maintain these operating parameters. Can be built up for Aerospace quality salvage.
Deposit Characteristics: When applied properly, the deposit is soft (20R¸), defect (pore) free, ductile, low stress. Adherent Nickel meets AMS 2424.
Drawbacks: Solution is expensive and difficult to use when compared to other LDC Nickel solutions.

LDC-2820 Nickel Sulfamate (hard)

Primary Use: Normally used for salvage and wear resistance
Solution Characteristics: Same operating parameters as LDC-2820 and LDC-2840.
Deposit Characteristics: When applied properly, the deposit is hard (50R¸-60R¸) defect (pore) free, ductile, low stress. Adherent Nickel which meets AMS 2423. Deposit must be ground for finishing.
Drawbacks: Solution is expensive and difficult to use when compared to other LDC Nickel solutions. Not recommended for very thick deposits.