plating

plating, application of a plate, or coat, of metal to a surface for decoration, reflection of light, protection against corrosion, or increased wearing quality. The practice is of ancient origin: gilding was developed early; the Romans soldered silver plates to articles of baser metals; and in the 5th cent. a process was described where iron weapons were coated with copper by dipping them in a copper solution. In the 18th cent. the plating of copper or brass with silver by fusion was originated in England (see Sheffield plate). Plating by electrolysis, or electroplating, is the most common method because it permits the control of the thickness of the plating. Cadmium, zinc, silver, gold, tin, copper, nickel, and chromium are the most frequently used plating metals. Any of the common metals and some nonmetals, e.g., plastics, with suitably prepared surfaces can be used as a base. In electroforming, a mold made of specially prepared wax is electroplated. The wax is then melted and the plating itself constitutes the finished product. The part to be plated may be dipped in molten metal. For example, molten zinc is used in galvanizing; lead-tin alloy, in terneplating; and tin, in tinning. Without electricity, some metals can be precipitated from chemical solutions onto the surface of plastics or metals. A powdered, liquid, or gaseous plating metal can be made to diffuse into a heated base-metal surface. Sherardizing is the diffusion coating of zinc on steel; chromizing, chromium on steel; and calorizing, aluminum on steel. The application by welding or brazing of a sheet or plate to the base metal is called cladding. Decorative metal coatings are applied to plastic by vapor deposition. The metal, usually aluminum, and the plastic parts are put in a vacuum chamber. When the aluminum is vaporized by a surge of electricity, the particles settle on any exposed surface. Worn parts can be sprayed with molten metal to build them up to their original dimensions. Iron or steel is best protected from corrosion by a coating of cadmium or zinc, which oxidizes, creating a protective coat for the underlying material. Parts such as automobile bumpers usually have an undercoating of copper, a protective layer of nickel, and a thin, shiny surface layer of chromium for decoration. In the manufacture of phonograph records an original recording is made on a metal disk coated with lacquer, which is then plated. From the plated master a die is made to be used in a hydraulic press. The silvering of mirrors is a type of plating in which silver is precipitated chemically on glass.

Coating a metal or other material, such as plastic or china, with a hard, nonporous metallic surface to improve durability and beauty. Early plated goods (“old Sheffield plate”) are made by the process invented by Thomas Boulsover, and consist of a sandwich of copper between two layers of silver. Today surfaces such as gold, silver, stainless steel, palladium, copper, and nickel are applied by dipping an object into a solution containing the desired surface material, which is deposited by chemical or electrochemical action (see electroplating). Much plating is done for decorative purposes, but still more is done to increase the durability and corrosion resistance of softer materials. Most automotive parts, appliances, housewares and flatware, hardware, plumbing and electronic equipment, wire goods, aircraft and aerospace products, and machine tools are plated for durability. Seealso galvanizing, terneplate, tinplating.

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Gold-plating is a term relating to European Union law, used particularly in the UK.

Gold-plating refers to the practise of national bodies exceeding the terms of European Community directives when implementing them into national law . In the United Kingdom business lobbyists argue that the government and its agencies often tag additional measures on to the back of European Directives which place UK business at a competitive disadvantage in relation to other EU states where directives are implemented more literally.

In Italy, gold-plating has often been used as a device to pass through controversial measures and to ensure a lower degree of parliamentary scrutiny, particularly in periods of weak government.

EU governments committed themselves to a deregulation agenda at the Lisbon Summit in 2000, and as a consequence the European Commission has supported more maximum harmonisation measures in recent years, which effectively prohibit gold-plating.

See also

• Minimum harmonisation

References