Sacrificial protection for steel
Zinc electroplating deposits a layer of zinc that corrodes preferentially, shielding the base steel from rust. It is one of the most widely specified treatments for steel hardware, fasteners, brackets, and structural components where cost-effective corrosion resistance is required. Coordinated through our trusted finishing vendors with both rack and barrel capacity.
Rack vs. barrel
Rack plating suits parts that must be individually fixtured — larger components, precision parts, or anything where contact marks cannot be tolerated. Barrel plating is the efficient process for high volumes of small parts: fasteners, bolts, washers, and pins tumbled for uniform coverage. Part geometry, volume, and finish requirements determine the right method.
- Rack plating for larger, precision, or geometry-sensitive parts
- Barrel plating for high-volume small parts and fasteners
- Clear, black, yellow, and olive drab chromate passivates
- Threaded parts and steel hardware — a core application
Chromate passivate colors
After plating, a chromate passivate seals the zinc and sets the appearance: clear (trivalent — bright silver, the RoHS-compliant standard), yellow (gold iridescent, higher baseline corrosion hours), black (matte, low-reflectivity), and olive drab (specified for some defense hardware). For purely aesthetic steel treatment with zero buildup, see black oxide; for stainless, see passivation.