Tin-Zinc Plating

Benefits & Uses

Tin-zinc plating is one of several zinc-based alloy finishes that have gained in popularity in recent years—particularly in the automotive industry. It is an alloy plating that typically consists of approximately 70% tin metal and 30% zinc metal and draws on the strengths of both metals.

Tin-Zinc is used primarily for engineering and functional applications due to its less than desirable appearance. One of its main uses is to improve the corrosion resistance of steel parts. Tin-Zinc offers superior corrosion protection when compared to traditional zinc plating. When applied, tin-zinc works both as a barrier and sacrificial coating to prolong the life of the basis metal. The tin in the deposit also gives the coating additional beneficial characteristics. Tin has excellent electrical properties—it is conductive and can be easily soldered. Tin also has good lubricity and ductility.

Our Capabilities

Varland Metal Service has the capability to barrel tin-zinc plate over ferrous alloys including low and high carbon steels (including heat treated/case hardened steels).

Excellent Corrosion Protection
Our barrel tin-zinc plating process produces a finish with excellent corrosion protection properties. Tin-zinc corrosion resistance is, for the most part, a function of the thickness of the plating. However the type of chromate also plays some part in the results. Varland can supply barrel tin-zinc finishes as follows:
- Tin-Zinc with no chromate
- Tin-Zinc with Clear Trivalent Chromate (hexavalent-free)
Excellent Adhesion
Our barrel tin-zinc process provides excellent adhesion and ductility allowing parts to pass even the toughest adhesion tests. This means that parts that get crimped, bent, or staked during assembly will remain adherent.
Delicate & Threaded Parts
Our plating process control and engineered material handling solutions allow us to barrel plate externally threaded and dimensionally-critical parts with excellent success.

Note: to achieve good results, raw parts must be properly engineered to allow for plating build-up.

Contact Varland today to find out more about our tin-zinc plating capabilities and how we can help you with your tin-zinc plating needs.