Electroplating Masking

Masking metal parts for precision electroplating — holding plating off the areas that must stay bare through an acid bath at up to 100 °C, for runs of twenty hours and more.

A green polyester masking tape leaked at the edges and let the bath creep underneath. A silicone-adhesive polyimide film tape, slit from 1 inch up to 29 inches so a large panel is masked in one piece, passed the customer's Design of Experiments and went into production at two plants.

The full qualification story — process conditions, why the first tape failed, and how the trial was run — is written up under Resources: "Masking Tape for Precision Electroplating".