Gold Plating Services

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For your Gold Plating requirements, ProPlate® has facilities for gold electroplating both small and large parts in various sized barrels and racks, along with custom and prototype metal finishing.

Gold is a chemical element with a bright, slightly reddish yellow color in its purest form. As a precious metal and one of the least reactive chemical elements, it does not oxidize in air, so it remains stable under standard conditions and its electrical conductivity is constant over long periods of time. Gold plating can be used to enable metal pieces to be soldered together in situations where this would have not been previously possible and to increase wear resistance when it is mixed with cobalt. Its resistance to corrosion also makes gold electroplating suitable for connector pins, electrical switch contacts, and other applications where electrical contacts occur intermittently.

Gold Plating
Specifications

MIL-G-45204, MIL-DTL-45204, ASTM B488, Gold Plating, AMS 2422, AMS 2425

Specification: MIL-G-45204 Gold Plating, Electrodeposited
  • Type I requires a minimum of 99.7% gold with a hardness grade of A, B, or C. This gold plating service can be used for improving solderability, electrical contacts that require a high reliability, as well as many other general purpose applications.
  • Type II requires a minimum of 99.0% gold with a hardness grade of B, C or D. It tends to be used for more general purpose applications as the hardening agents in the gold plating will oxidize under conditions of high temperature.
  • Type III requires a minimum of 99.9 % with hardness grade of A only. This gold plating service is used for thermocompression bonding, nuclear engineering, high temperature applications and semi-conductor components.
Underplate Recommendations
Metal ions from base metals such as brass, bronze, or beryllium copper, can disseminate into a gold layer applied on top and degrade the non-oxidizing and hardness properties of the gold. An anti-diffusion underplate such as electro-less or sulfamate nickel applied to the surface of the metal can prevent such occurrences and create a bright finish.


​Purity and Coating Thickness
Gold of the highest purity is preferred for selective gold plating as impurities in the deposit can make soldering more difficult. Gold electroplating coatings should range between 50 and 100 micro inches for the best soldering.

Hardness Grades
  • A: 90 knoop, maximum
  • B: 91-129 knoop, inclusive
  • C: 130-200 knoop, inclusive
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