History of Brush Plating
Brush Plating, also known as Electro Chemical Metalizing or Selective Plating is a metal deposition method for localized plating without using the immersion tank system. Electroplating itself dates back to Egyptian times where it was used in the making of jewellery and still works on the same basic principles today.
Brush Plating was originally conceived in Paris, France in 1938 by Georges Icxi. Since then Brush Plating has evolved from simple touch-up of tank plated parts to a wide variety of salvage, repairs, and surface enhancement applications. Mr. Icxi was joined by Mr. Daloze and together they created the first commercial brush plating process in 1945 and 1948were granted a French patent for their work.
This newly developed process was championed by a couple of different companies in 50’s and 60’s that furthered the technology by refining both equipment and chemistry. All industries have benefited by the advancement of this process which is utilized by OEM’s, manufacturing and overhaul shops alike.
One of the main companies involved in the advancement of Brush Plating was Selectrons LTD. Their system became known as the SELECTRON process and the term "Electrochemical Metallizing" was born. This phrase was made famous by Marvin Rubinstein, author of Electrochemical Metallizing (the best book on the subject of Brush Plating).
In the mid 70’s a chemical engineer name Herb Freedman introduce the SELECTRON process into Canada becoming the leading authority and spokesman on the subject. At first the prime users of the process were aerospace, aviation and power generators. The market quickly expanded to include pulp and paper, printing, marine, transportation, food and more.
In the late 70’s, now owner of Canadian Metal-ad Corporation, Paul Arato began training with Mr. Freedman. The process benefited from combined efforts focusing on operator technique to incorporate larger and more complex projects including high profile nuclear component restoration.
Currently the Brush Plating process holds numerous ASTM, MIL Standards and approvals from most leading international corporations in all industries. There are now over 70 different metals and alloys available for deposit with this process, and more on the way with constant R & D developments.