Pioneer Metal Finishing
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Nor-Kote™ and Nor-Last™

The Proprietary Electroless Nickel Plating Processes From Pioneer

  • MIL-C-26074 Type II
  • Grade A, B & C
  • Class 1, 2, 3 & 4
  • TYPE III
  • AMS 2404
  • Excellent abrasion and corrosion resistance
  • Uniform plating, no edge build up
  • Excellent natural surface lubricity
  • Perfect for tight tolerance work
  • Can be applied to different substrates including aluminum, stainless steel, brass and copper.
  • Well-suited for salvage work

Yielding excellent wear and corrosion resistance, electroless nickel is an autocatalytic plating process resulting in a reflective layer of nickel-phosphorous. The total build up plating process provides uniformity on all surfaces, making post machining unnecessary when dimensions are accurate. Pioneer offers surface treatments to increase hardness, lubricity and corrosion resistance.

Pioneer Metal Finishing’s Electroless Nickel Process Comparisons

Process Hardness Wear Corrosion Lubricity Description Major Benefit
Nor-Last Rc Vickers Knoop Suga Salt Spray C.o.F Nor-Last offers the best wear protection of our electroless nickel finishes approaching the ability of hard chrome Surface hardness and supreme wear resistence increasing tooling longevity 2.5 to 4 times
as plated 64 800 822 7 mg 100 hrs 0.18
baked 70 980 970 5 mg 48 hrs 0.21
Nor-Kote I (Med. Phos) Pioneer Metal Finishing's standard electroless nickel process Hardness and adequate wear resistence
as plated 44 440 452 15 mg 100 hrs 0.18
baked 68 940 920 13 mg 24 hrs 0.32
Nor-Kote I (High Phos) 45 450 466 13 mg 1200 0.15 Pioneer Metal Finishing's corrosion resistant electroless nickel process Supreme corrosion protection
*Hard Chrome 70 980 970 4.0 mg 24 hrs 0.25
Nor-Kote II Added PTFE surface treatment for improved surface lubricity and release properties
Nor-Kote III Combination of proprietary surface pretreatment of the base metal and PTFE surface treatment
Nor-Lube Electroless nickel process with occluded PTFE particles offering supreme lubricity
  • * Pioneer Metal Finishing does not offer hard chrome.
  • Heat Treatment Results after 1 hour at 750° F.
  • Corrosion resistance based on .001" of coating performed per ASTMB 117. – failure is first sign of red corrosion
  • Taber testing performed per MIL-A-8625 using CS-17 wheel, 1000 g. load for 10,000 cycles.
  • Suga testing per ISO 8251. 320 gd. Mesh silicon carbide paper for 1200 cycles.
  • Coefficient of friction performed per A.S.T.M. D 1894. Kinetic avg.
  • All test values are based on a minimum of 3 separate test results.
  • Individual data results may vary depending on alloys, coating thickness, etc.

The brightness and decorative appearance of the electroless nickel coating means that Nor-Kote™ and Nor-Last™ may be specified as single coatings where multiple coatings were previously used. There is an overall uniformity of deposit with no edge build up, allowing bright, smooth, pit-free deposits.

In terms of ductility, a 0.001" foil of electroless nickel can be bent 360° around an 18" mandrel without cracking.

Nor-Kote™ and Nor-Last™ provide freedom from porosity and have a controlled hardness heat treatable to 68 and 70 Rockwell C, respectively.

Other benefits include its natural lubricity, which provides excellent release properties, an infinite throw, which eliminates auxiliary anodes, a solderable hard coat for light metals and a self-polishing effect when used in molding operations.

Electroless nickel provides a sound base coating for subsequent finishing operations and has anti-galling characteristics for mating metallic finishes. Selective plating using the Nor-Kote™ or Nor-Last™ process can salvage worn or mis-machined parts. Nor-Last™ provides excellent wear resistance as an alternative for hard chrome plating.

Microhardness Testing

Microhardness is determined by indenting a perpendicular cross section using a Knoop or Vickers diamond. The diamond is forced into the material by applying a specified load according to standards. The resulting indent will be a function of the known load and the material hardness.

The Vickers indenter is the most commonly used, as it also exists on a macroscopic scale and hence is more familiar to most people. The Knoop method is specifically developed to test coatings on materials, whether it is on a coating surface or on a cross section. The slender, shallow indent will be less sensitive to the base material and on a cross section will be able to make cleaner indent on a thin coating.

The Electroless Nickel Process

Electroless nickel is a very useful and versatile tool when understood and properly applied. Because of the unique characteristics and physical properties of our Nor-Kote™ and Nor-Last™ processes, we can upgrade your existing finishes for stainless steel, aluminum and brass.

Nor-Kote™ and Nor-Last™ provide superior wear due to its hardness and natural lubricity. Severe wear applications must be carefully evaluated and comparisons between Nor-Kote™ and other coatings should be made. Nor-Kote™ and Nor-Last™ may be ground, honed, or machined using techniques that correspond to their respective hardnesses.

Nor-Kote™ and Nor-Last™ are marked by an accurate reproduction of the surface finish. Should there be scratches, tool marks or blemishes, they will be duplicated in the finish. Masking for selective plating is possible because the solution will deposit upon contact. The edge definition will be slightly uneven, depending on the thickness of the plate. Allowance should be made for blending in the plate by grinding or stoning, if required. Tapped holes or threads may be plugged or fixtured if they are standard size.

Design consideration should be given to dimensioning parts for overall plating. Joined parts of the same or different materials may be plated. An approved silver solder or a carbon-free weld should be used for joining. Soft solder is usually not platable without special pre-treatment.

Successful Nor-Kote™ and Nor-Last™ production depends on many factors, among them being skilled production workers and proper equipment processing techniques. Pioneer has them all and our objective is to provide complete job satisfaction to our customers. That's why we maintain quality control that begins with pre-plate inspection and ends with certification. We provide Certifications of Compliance for finishing and testing specifications. Lot samples, test coupons and other support data are available for inspection of compliance. Among our test equipment we maintain:

  • pH Meters
  • Computerized Temperature Controls
  • Physical Measuring - Micrometers
  • Process Controllers
  • X-Ray Fluorescence
  • Microhardness
  • Cross-Section
  • Salt Spray

Capabilities

Pioneer Metal Finishing features two electroless nickel plating lines, each with medium phosphorous and high phosphorous baths. Our 450 line is set up to run small to medium sized parts up to 3 feet. Our 850 line is ideal for large parts up to 12 feet long x 30” x30”.