Bronze Plating Basics
What are the components of bronze? Can you electroplate base materials with bronze?
Q. What are the components of bronze? Can you electroplate base materials with bronze? –N.N.
A. Bronze is an alloy consisting of copper and tin. Other metals are often added to improve toughness. Bronze can be plated as a decorative finish, and white bronze is used as a substitute for nickel. The color of the deposit can vary from copper color (2-3 percent tin) to white (over 20 percent tin). Many different plating baths have been developed for plating bronze, with cyanide and pyrophosphate being the most common. Here's a typical cyanide plating bath formulation.
| Component | Concentration |
| Sodium stannate | 100 g/L |
| Sodium cyanide | 28 g/L |
| Copper cyanide | 12 g/L |
| Sodium hydroxide | 10 g/L |
| Sodium cyanide (free) | 16 g/L |
| Sodium hydroxide (free) | 15 g/L |
| Operating Conditions | |
| Temperature | 140-160°F |
| Current density | 20-50 asf |
There are a number of excellent resources to be found on pfonline.com using the search terms “bronze
electroplating.”
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