Ask the Expert Question-and-Answer Archive
(Hard Chrome Plating)

by Larry Zitko, ChromeTech, Inc.
April, 2002

Burnishing and Honing

Q. What are the effects of either burnishing or honing on the quality of hard chrome plating?

A. I have no experience with burnishing and little with honing. Some of my customers who hard chrome plate the inside diameters of hydraulic and pneumatic cylinders use I.D. honing extensively. I remember them commenting that the stones had to be matched to the material being cut. In other words, they had different honing stones for steel and chrome. The honing of chromium after plating was slow, I recall. Although many chrome plated hydraulic valve spools are centerless ground after plating, I saw some of them that were O.D. honed on a honing machine built by Sunnen.

Just like grinding or belt-polishing, one should always strive to improve preplate and postplate finishing steps where possible. The preplate finishing can effect pitting, nodulization and corrosion resistance of the deposit. The postplate finishing affects the visual and functional properties of the plated part.