Bronze plating: processes and applications

How bronze plating works

To plate an object with bronze, certain steps are performed to colour the surface of an object uniformly.

The preliminary phase consists of pickling in sulfuric or hydrochloric acid to prepare the surface for treatment.

Following this, bronze plating is carried out by means of dipping or brushing, respectively, depending on whether it is a small or a large object.

When working with immersion, the temperature of the solution must be brought to around 50°C. Once dry, the surface takes on a grey colour, which turns black following slow, uniform heating in special ovens.

Bronze plating is therefore a simple, low-cost process with a high yield that makes surfaces more resistant to wear.

However, fluoropolymer coatings, Teflon PTFE and PFA coatings and, in general, polymeric coatings and Halar® create surface properties equivalent to bronze plating (in terms of wear resistance and corrosion protection), while also guaranteeing non-stick and sliding properties.