7696 Route 31
Lyons NY 14489
Voice: 315.946.1213 Fax: 315.946.4456
www.caswellplating.com
PTFE ELECTROLESS NICKEL
PTFE or Teflon is an excellent coating for providing low friction values on parts, especially where two parts are sliding together. It is
especially useful on tools, molds, dies, cylinders, gun parts, bearings etc. and provides self lubricating properties to the parts it is
applied to.
Our PTFE Electroless Nickel plates a mid-phosphorous nickel plating, with 20-25% PTFE deposits.
The coating is applied in approx 1 hour to steel, copper, brass, bronze, zincated aluminum. Other metals can be plated with other
processes first, such as Flash Copper, then plated with PTFE EN.
The EN PTFE system plates at approx 0.2-0.4 mils per hour (0.0002” – 0.0004”).
Bath Prep:
Per 1.5 Gal total bath size:
1. Add 8 fl oz Part A
2. Add 28 fl oz Part B
3. Add 156 fl oz Distilled Water
4. Add 1 oz (28gm) (by weight) PTFE Dispersion
5. Add all the fume balls (these help keep heat in the tank)
6. Mark the liquid level with a permanent marker on the outside of the tank.
7. Mix solution with plastic spoon.
8. Refer to the next page for nickel credit calculations and write down your starting credit number on the balance sheet.
Bath Operation:
1. Calculate the surface area of the part in square inches and the time you plan to plate the part.
2. Consider the amount of nickel credits you will be using (# of minutes x surface area in sq inches). For example, if your part is
10 sq inches, and you want to plate for 30 mins, you will use 300 credits (10 x 30)
3. Mix up the required amount of Part A and Part C to replenish all the credits you will use. Refer to next page for instructions.
4. Heat the bath to 190 deg F on a range or hot plate. Monitor the temperature with the included thermometer.
5. Hang your cleaned and waterbreak tested part from a piece of string or wire and immerse in the tank.
6. Plate until desired thickness is reached. Every 10 minutes or so, add a portion of your replenishment mix, and top off with
distilled water to the original marked level.
7. While plating, use the part, or a plastic spoon, to keep the solution stirred up. This prevents the PTFE particles from settling
to the bottom of the tank. Note: Pump agitation or air agitation is not recommended, as this is too vigorous and damages the
PTFE particles.
Replenish Bath:
1. After plating is completed, replenish the bath with your remaining replenisher and top off to original level with distilled
water.
2. Refer to the next page for replenishment procedures.
PROCEDURE SETUP OPERATING EQUIPMENT SAFETY
PARAMETERS
1. SURFACE Buff & Polish for a mirror finish. Bead Blast for a ‘flat’ finish. Nylon Abrasive wheel buff for a ‘scratched
PREPARATION brush’ look.
140- 200 deg F 1 x 5 gal tank Wear rubber gloves
No agitation 1 x tank lid and goggles. Do not
5 mins immersion 1 x lid ring ingest
2. DEGREASING 1 x 200f heater
12 oz SP Degreaser 1 x 2lb SP
3 gal Distilled water Degreaser
RINSE IN DISTILLED
WATER SPRAY
WATER BREAK TEST
Oil/dirt film makes water bead up No oil/dirt film allows water to cover part
Aluminum: Zincate part, rinse, then immediately plate with Regular Electroless Nickel first. Do not allow to
OPTIONAL SURFACE
dry between plates.
PREPARATION
Steel, Iron: where corrosion may be a problem, plate for 20 mins in Regular Electroless Ni.
RINSE IN DISTILLED
WATER SPRAY
CALCULATE TOTAL SURFACE AREA AND PLATING TIME
CALCULATE CREDITS
CHECK for MAXIMUM LOAD 1.5 Gal plating solution = 150 sq inches of plating surface area MAXIMUM!
PREMIX REPLENISHER IF NEEDED
190 deg F 1 x Glass Lined Wear rubber gloves
1.5 gal setup = Tank and goggles. Do not
8 oz A, 28 oz B, 1 x thermometer ingest
156 oz Distilled water 1 x Fume Balls
3. Tank Makeup 1 oz by weight PTFE Dispersion
pH = 6.1-6.5
MARK TANK WITH LIQUID LEVEL
NOW
4. Plating Times Time 60 mins. Plate Thickness 0.0002 “ – 0.0004”
Tank Size MAXIMUM Square inches
REPLENISH REPLENISHER
In pints LOAD available AFTER Amounts required to make up enough to replenish TOTAL
in sq inches PLATING SQ amount of credits in tank
INCHES
Part A Part C PTFE Dispersion
12 150 1100 220 1.5 fl oz 3 fl oz 5gm or 0.15 oz by weight
24 300 2200 440 3 fl oz 6 fl oz 10 gm or 0.3 oz by weight
36 450 3300 660 4.5fl oz 9 fl oz 15 gm or 0.45 oz by weight
5. DETERMINE WHEN TO REPLENISH and HOW FREQUENTLY & check temperature
After replenishing:
6. TOP UP TANK TO ORIGINAL LEVEL WITH DISTILLED WATER.
MAXIMUM LOAD
You may ONLY plate a maximum of 150 sq inches of surface area per 1.5 Gal of plating solution
If this amount is exceeded the bath will start to overwork and plating quality will seriously deteriorate.
Therefore if the part is 300 square inches, you need a MINIMUM 3 Gal Of plating solution.
Of course, if your bath contains MORE solution, this is OK.
NICKEL REPLENISHMENT
In practice, the additions of ‘replenishment’ should be made during the actual plating process at approximately every 10 minutes. The
total amount of replenishment should be calculated and made up beforehand. Ideally, the bath should be maintained at 80%
efficiency. Letting the nickel deplete below 70% level will accelerate deterioration of the bath.
Failure to replenish the solution will result in the bath eventually becoming out of balance and unusable.
The Nickel Bath Replenishment is a straightforward matter of adding more nickel from the Concentrate Part A, with an addition of
Concentrate Part C and more PTFE dispersion.
A note on bath replenishment.
During the process of plating, a quantity of water will evaporate from the tank. Additions of DISTILLED WATER must be added
periodically to maintain the correct dilution of the solution.
Make a note of the waterline when you first make up your solution. To make an addition, first, IF REQUIRED, add a quantity of
REPLENISHMENT SOLUTION, and then top up with distilled water.
It is always advisable to add small amounts of both distilled water and replenisher frequently, say every 5 minutes, as this will keep
the bath from cooling and becoming unstable.
Keep a note of the temperature when adding Replenishment. The solution should ideally be at 190 deg F when adding to ensure the
temperature drop does not go below 185 deg F.
Operating the Kit
Areas not requiring to be plated may be masked with 2 coats of Mask-it. This should be allowed to thoroughly dry between coats,
otherwise the hot solution may cause the coating to peel.
Important. Any part that contains copper, brass or bronze must be pre-plated with nickel.