"Boiled" Tin Plate

[Ken I]

Does anyone out there know how to perform "boiled tin" plating.

When I was younger I worked at an instrument manufacturer and an old hand there used to tin plate brass parts by placing them in an enamelled bowl with tin granules, water and ingredient "x" and letting it simmmer for an hour.

This produced a bright tin plate (very thin less than a micron 0.001mm).

What on earth is ingredient "x" ?

I couldn't find anything useful on an internet search.

Ken

 

[Bluechip]

Ken

One of the components used in electro-less nickel plating is Sodium Hypophosphite.

At least that was written on one of the containers when I had a go at nickel years ago...

Got the whole arrangement as a kit though. Not as individual items.

May be possible to get kits now. Caswell ??

Dave BC

 

[GailInNM]

Immersion tin plating is used for many printed circuit boards after etching to put a thin layer of tin on the copper to prevent oxidation and improve the soldering properties. There are many formulations commercially available.

Some consist of dry chemicals which are mixed with water or some times acid. Most of these have limited shelf life when mixed, typically a month or two so only enough to do the job are mixed at one time.

Others are premixed liquid solutions with long shelf lives so you can use them and then rebottle them for the next time.

The liquid solutions are generally considerably more expensive than the mix it yourself dry powers. Some produce more of a matte finish than others, but generally can be buffed up by hand to a bright finish. I have a small quanity of a two component dry power type that I got many years ago and it still seems stable and produces a bright finish. I got it from a printed circuit board manufacturer who was closing down operations.

If you do a search for "PC board tin plate" or "immersion tin plate" you will get a lot of hits for supplies. Here is one for a single component dry power.
http://www.parts-express.com/1/1/2616-tinnit-tin-plate.html

This does not answer your original question about "ingredient x", but maybe will give you some direction to go in.

Gail in NM