Metallizing and Plating

Vacuum metallizing and sputtering are used to provide an attractive high gloss metal coating on molded plastic parts.  These processes are carried out in a vacuum chamber.  Metal - typically aluminum, but also silver, copper, gold, or brass alloy - is evaporated from a source by resistance heating, electron beam or plasma methods and deposited on the part.  A clear coat may later be applied to the thin metal layer for abrasion and environmental protection.  As adhesion to most plastics is low, the plastic part is usually given a base precoat.  

Ticona offers grades of Fortron® polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) and Vectra® liquid crystal polymer (LCP) that work well for this process.

• Fortron 4665 B6 PPS
• Vectra C 810 LCP
• Vectra C 820 LCP
• Vectra E 820i LCP
• Vectra E 820i Pd LCP

Electroplating:
Automotive exterior parts such as grilles and wheel covers are often made from injection-molded plastics electroplated with chromium.  They are durable, lightweight replacements for die-castings and sheet metal. The plastic materials are usually special formulations.  After pretreatment, parts are electroplated in a conventional process.

Flame Spraying/Arc Spraying:
In these processes, specialized equipment is used to deposit a fine spray of molten metal on the plastic surface.  The relatively thick, rough coating is generally used on internal surfaces for electromagnetic and radio frequency shielding or to dissipate static charge.