What does the term “selective plating” mean? Why should you care? How do you go about selecting the best vendor for your selective plating needs? This informative article helps to answer those questions and point you in the right direction.

1. What does the term “selective plating” mean? Why should you care? How do you go about
selecting the best vendor for your selective plating needs? This informative article helps to
answer those questions and point you in the right direction.
This is a generic look at the process of “selective plating”.
First things first – what exactly does “selective plating” mean?
It’s the process of plating a part with a specific metal in a local area. Instead of
immersing your hardware into an alloy bath, the process is much more detailed.
Plating experts assess every inch of a specific part and determine exactly how thick
the coating of metal needs to be on each specific area. From there, they can apply
exactly the right amount and only where it needs to be.
After all, some areas may absorb the metal more
quickly than others. If you were to simply add a
uniform amount to the entire surface, it would affect
how the hardware performed. It might even prevent
it from performing altogether!
As an added benefit, this selective process can save
you valuable money. Since areas are coated
according to what they need and where they need it – instead of uniformly – you won’t
wind up wasting money on unnecessary metal.
So, how is the process done?
If you’re picturing a bunch of scientists sitting around with paint brushes, think again!
The selective plating process is done electrochemically. And because the process is

2. so detailed, it can’t be done on the hardware as a whole. Instead, your hardware will
have to be broken up into pieces. That’s the only way to make sure that the metal gets
into every nook and cranny where it’s supposed to.
Luckily, though, there’s no heat involved. That’s a big plus for fragile equipment that
can’t be subjected to extreme temperatures. After all, selective plating was originally
designed for highly-specialized equipment. The entire process would be of no use to
anyone if it was too harsh on the equipment!
Who’s responsible for plating all of this important equipment?
If you’re smart, you’ll turn your plating responsibilities over to NADCAP certified metal
platers. In fact, in some industries, you won’t have a choice! That’s because some
industries actually require you to use companies with a NADCAP certification.
However, if you’re given a choice, opt for the NADCAP certified companies.
Why? What makes them so great?
Having a NADCAP certification is even better than
being the cream of the crop. That’s because the
certification process is grueling, to say the least! To
get certified, companies have to turn over their
quality control manuals, fill out questionnaires,
undergo audits, and make any required changes
quickly. The certification process goes on for
months and months, and once it’s over, it’s time to
schedule next year’s certification! Any company that
can successfully navigate through something like this is certainly worth doing business
with!
Plus, some companies have very specific NADCAP certifications. That way, you can
narrow down your search to companies that specialize in the exact metal you’re
dealing with. For example, if you need your hardware plated with nickel, you can
search solely for NADCAP certified nickel platers. Since they have gone through the
NADCAP process specifically in nickel, you know you’ll be able to trust them!
After all, you’ve undoubtedly spent a lot of time, energy, and money perfecting your
hardware. You owe it to yourself to finish it off with a process that’s as selective as
selective plating!