Electroless Nickel Plating

[AndyA]

I'm considering getting the next frame I build electroless nickel plated. It's a 650b hardtail for myself and frame #5 so far. Does anyone have any experiences with electroless nickel playing on bike frames? Is it durable? I understand that it's beneficial to use large vent holes so that the solution can ingress and be rinsed out more easily. Any other considerations?

Andrew Armour

[Todd Mosley]

True Temper steel golf shafts are nickel plated. The finish on them is pretty durable.

[dbohemian]

Electroless Nickel or EN is a great coating to put on a bike frame and is extremely durable. Not to be confused with standard electro-deposition plating where copper is plated then nickel EN is a chemically deposited directly to steel and is much thinner and tougher.

A couple of things to consider. First, the plating is extremely thin which is good but shows every single surface irregularity. If you wanted a polished surface you would have to polish the steel first which is a big PITA. You may consider a blasted or brushed finish instead. Second, EN plates everything inside and out, unlike standard plating. This is also good but it all has to be really clean in there if you wish for the plating solution to actually deposit on the frame. Spit polish those tubes before building, large vents and probably some cleaning baths I don't know anything about. Third, its expensive but whether its worth it is up to you.

[Mark Kelly]

There's a version of EN which uses PTFE to fill the pores in the nickel, improving corrosion resistance. I believe this is the coating Campag uses on their chainrings. Would probably work well on a touring bike.

[Peter Polack]

My concerns would be:

Will the plating affect the seat tube I.D? Can it be reamed to seatpost diameter or will it be too hard for the cutter?

Will it affect bottom bracket threads? Can the BB still be tapped and faced afterwards? Same with the head tube I.D.?

[Andrew R Stewart]

I have a friend who had his self made frame nickel plated maybe 40 years ago. He worked for Kodak and had friends in the plating arena. It came out looking beautiful. Rich and smooth. But over the years it wore at the rub/contact points easily and had corrosion creeping under the plating. he later said he wouldn't do it again. Andy.

[seankanary]

A very timely thread as I've been looking into EN plating for items at work. Make sure the frame is clean..They will still dip in a cleaning solution prior to plating, but this will insure a quality plate. Also, make sure the finish on the frame is the quality that you want (file marks will be amplified after plating). From what I've been told, the finish will be satin and have a goldish tint. Expect to pay around $48-$55/ft.

[Curt Goodrich]

I had lots of front rack EN plated and it holds up nicely. Be sure to let the plating company know that this is a bicycle frame (not obvious to them) and that this is for outdoor use. They need to know that to decide how long to leave the frame immersed in the solution. The longer immersed the thicker the coating. This will have an effect on tube ID's and threads so plan on machining them again after the plating. EN will not look like chrome. EN has a yellowish hue. EN like chrome will only look as nice as the surface finish of the steel. If you want a mirror finish, that step occurs before plating.

[Dave Thompson]

EN is also used on firearms and has proved to be very durable.

[AndyA]

The price is quite high, £100-200 from the platers that have replied so far. I'm OK with that if it lasts the lifetime of the frame which I'd put at 10 years. From Andy Stewart's experience it seems that helicopter tape is still required. I love the gold tint but I think I'll go for satin over polished. I'll save polished for if I make a Breeze Series II/Ritchey Annapurna tribute bike :-)
Andrew Armour

[bencooper]

I recently built a EN Brompton:

15518829305_fb6b3c02d6_z_d.jpg

It's a lovely finish, but a nightmare to build the bike as every surface and thread gets plated and needs cleaning out again, which is especially bad on a folding bike.

[EricKeller]

I worked with some aluminum EN parts recently. I thought it would look nice on a bike frame or rack. These parts had a thick coating which i then diamond turned to get a better finish. Apparently going thicker is not a big deal. Once it was turned it looked really nice, but I haven't figured out how to chuck up a frame on a lathe.