Decorative Chrome Plating

Two main types of chrome plating are used in industry today: hard chrome plating and decorative chrome plating. With hard chrome plating, a thick deposit of chromium metal is plated onto steel components to improve surface hardness and wear resistance. Hard chrome plating is often used on tools and dies where increasing tool life through improved wear resistance is important. Master Finish Company does not provide hard chrome plating services.

Decorative chrome plating is our specialty! At Master Finish Company we apply a thin layer of chromium as a decorative topcoat to stainless steel and nickel-plated components. In this plating application, the thin chromium layer protects the nickel from oxidation and tarnish while providing the bright bluish tint we all recognize as bright decorative chrome.

Master Finish Company uses two types of decorative chrome plating baths. Our traditional hexavalent chromium plating bath deposits neutral chromium metal onto part surfaces. Although hexavalent chromium, a hazardous substance, is present in our plating bath, the chromium metal is deposited onto your component parts in its neutrally charged, non-hazardous molecular form. This should not be confused with the hexavalent chromium passivation dips often used as a protective topcoat by zinc platers.

Master Finish Company also employs trivalent chromium plating baths. These baths are hexavalent-chromium-free and can deliver a decorative chrome finish appearance very similar to the traditional bright chrome color. Or, we can modify our trivalent chromium bath to provide a rich dark tint to your chrome plated components.

We also offer our completely chrome-free alternative, Repla-Chrome^®. We use Repla-Chrome, our nickel-tungsten-cobalt alloy, as a protective topcoat in lieu of chromium. We apply Repla-Chrome on small steel and brass components in our automated barrel plating line.