Method for brush electroplating, electrode and electrolyte therefor.

摘要

A brush electrode for use in electrotreating a metal surface, comprises an electrode (2) covered by an absorbent abrasive material (4) formed of synthetic fibres. A preferred abrasive material is a mixed polypropylene/ nylon felt in which the fibres are consolidated by needle-punching and bonded with acrylic resin. The invention includes a method of depositing a metal or an alloy on to a metal body using the brush electrode, which allows good quality deposits to be obtained without the need to transport the metal body to a factory for the treatment. A solution for use in the method, which is especially stable under such conditions, includes metal ions which will form an alloy, a hydroxy-carboxylic acid such as a gluconate or heptonate to complex metal ions, and a carboxylic acid such as acetic acid also to complex metal ions. Best results are obtained when the pH of the solution is between 0.5 and 2.