Wood's Nickel Redux
Question: I need some information about the Wood's nickel strike bath.
Question:
I need some information about the Wood's nickel strike bath. How is it made up and operated? What is the bath used for? P.M.
Answer:
Most of us talk about Wood's nickel strikes but never talk much about the details. A Wood's nickel strike is used to apply a strike plate over metals that tend to passivate due to oxide formation on the surface. Nickel alloys and stainless steels are two such materials.
The strike bath is made up as follows:
Nickel chloride: 240 g/liter (31 oz/gal)
Hydrochloric acid (conc.): 40 g/liter (5 oz/gal)
Nickel anodes should be used. The strike bath is used at 10-45 asf at 70-90F for 0.5-2 min. The cathode efficiency is poor compared to the anode efficiency. This results in a buildup of nickel ions in the solution. In general, the nickel content should not be any greater than 70-80 g/liter.
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