FAQ

Your product’s end use will determine the ideal finish. For example, if your object is expensive to manufacture and is used repeatedly, a coating such as a hard chrome buildup will improve the object’s useful life. If you desire a pleasant, shiny finish, we can provide a copper or copper/nickel/chrome finish.

The surface finishing industry continues to contribute positively to preserving a wide range of consumer and industrial products by controlling the effects of the finishing process through environmentally sensitive operations. The surface finishing industry has worked hand-in-hand with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to become one of the most environmentally protective industries in America. We at McDowell Enterprises take great pride in the efforts the electroplating and finishing industry has made to protect our world for the next generation.

The purpose of surface finishing is to provide an object with certain desirable properties that the object does not possess on its own. Surface finishing can:

• Improve an object’s appearance
• Provide corrosion and abrasion resistance
• Improve wear resistance
• Increase conductivity, solderability, and lubricity
• Render an item non-toxic

Consequently, surface finishing can improve an object’s economy of production, useful life, and functionality.

While surface finishing can enhance an object’s surface, tiny pinholes and deep scratches will not be completely filled. Buffing, polishing, and grinding the object’s surface before finishing can go a long way toward correcting some of these surface problems.

Surface finishing is the process of coating a metallic or plastic object with one or more layers of another metal, plastic, or paint to enhance, alter, or finish the surface with certain desired properties.