Plating Bath Water Hardness Test Strips

SKU: 33813-Hard

$13.95USD or lower Each

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Test water hardness in electroplating rinse baths to maintain deposit quality and avoid scaling that disrupts metal finishing operations.

Electroplating and metal finishing operations need to maintain precise water chemistry for uniform, defect-free metal deposits. Even moderate hardness levels (Ca2+, Mg2+) can interfere with electrolyte composition, promote scale formation on anodes, and reduce the efficiency of brighteners and leveling agents. Indigo® water hardness test strips (0-500 ppm CaCO3) provide a fast, economical way to monitor rinse water and make-up solutions. Regular testing ensures consistent bath performance, minimizes downtime from scaling, and improves coating adhesion and appearance.

Details Specs Docs Reviews
Details
Learning Outcome Key Feature or Benefit
Understand the role of water hardness in electroplating bath chemistry. Demonstrates how Ca2+ and Mg2+ ions interfere with electrolyte balance and surface quality.
Recognize how hardness control improves coating performance. Links ion concentration to adhesion, gloss, and color uniformity in metal finishes.
Develop quality control testing procedures for plating rinse water. Encourages weekly dip-test monitoring to prevent bath contamination and scale buildup.
Connect hardness testing with water treatment systems. Explains integration with ion exchange or reverse osmosis units for continuous process control.
Correlate hardness with plating bath defects. Shows how tracking hardness trends supports predictive maintenance and troubleshooting.

Best Practices

  • Test both feed and rinse water weekly to catch ion exchange exhaustion early.
  • Use softened or deionized water for high-precision plating baths (nickel, copper, chrome).
  • Record hardness trends to correlate with bath defects and prevent recurrence.
  • Combine with pH or conductivity testing for a complete picture of bath stability.
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Specifications
  • The number of strips (50) vial is approximate.
  • Shelf life is 3 years but if bag is properly sealed, they should be good for a minimum of 5 years or more.
  • Strips will degrade if exposed to sunlight and come in a dark bag to prevent this. Do NOT transfer to a clear bag or strips will degrade quickly.
  • Test strips are made in USA & calibrated with NIST standards.
Documentation

Test Strip Documentation
Stability Statement Certificate of Analysis SDS
Indigo Water hardness test strips 0-500ppm Stability Statement Indigo Water hardness test strips 0-500ppm Certificate of Analysis Indigo Water hardness test strips 0-500ppm SDS
Reviews (1)
2023-08-10

I wanted to find out how hard the water here is, because some water is used with the HVAC condenser on the hottest days. My tap water is very hard - 500PPM was indicated. I knew the water was hard, but not that hard. By contrast, the "5-gallon filtered bottled water" from the self-fill machine at the grocery store showed "0" ppm hardness. It is obvious I will have to install a filter for the condenser water spray so that calcium mineral deposits do not build up on the aluminum coils. The purchase of these test strips was well worth it!

— Patrick
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