Product Showcase: New Zinc-Nickel Clear Passivate

Columbia Chemical recently released COLDIP NI-Z CLEAR 250, a new clear trivalent passivate for zinc-nickel plating. The passivate operates under mild conditions which allows minimal alloy loss during passivation and helps maintain nickel in the deposit.

COLDIP NI-Z CLEAR 250 produces 250 hours of neutral salt spray to white corrosion without a sealer, exceeds 500 hours when top-coated and exceeds 1000 hours to first red rust. This unique, clear trivalent coating offers an extremely cost-effective alternative to high corrosion finishes.

After thorough internal testing and analysis in both the R&D and service labs, the passivate went through field test simulations on a pilot line and then into field production testing in plating shops throughout the Midwest and Southern markets. Due to the accelerated growth of zinc-nickel in both the automotive and industrial markets, the demand was high for a colorless zinc-nickel passivate that delivers strong salt spray results. With a focus on meeting the needs of customers, this passivate was developed to address those specific demands and not engineered with additional components that would unnecessarily drive up cost, a key advantage that resonated in the field. The easy-to-control two component system also offers stability to the bath life, another end-user benefit reported by Columbia’s technical field team.

As part of his role overseeing Research and Development, Executive Vice President Mark Schario commented: “Once a product passes through our rigorous internal testing phases, the field testing is critical and we appreciate the value our trial locations provide during the field-production testing process. This passivate was immediately met with a high level of interest and we are confident in its superior performance and excited to release it to market.”

This new, easy-to-control, cost-effective clear passivate is a strong addition to Columbia Chemical’s existing line of trivalent chromium based passivates, which are hexavalent chromium free and comply with current ELV, RoHS and REACH regulations. These products offer a trivalent passivation layer that is clear, blue, yellow, black or iridescent.

For more information on the new COLDIP NI-Z CLEAR 250 passivate or additional trivalent passivates, click here.