INTERNATIONAL ISO

STANDARD 1456

Fourth edition
2009-08-01

Metallic and other inorganic coatings —

Electrodeposited coatings of nickel,
nickel plus chromium, copper plus nickel
and of copper plus nickel plus chromium
Revêtements métalliques et autres revêtements inorganiques — Dépôts
électrolytiques de nickel, de nickel plus chrome, de cuivre plus nickel et
de cuivre plus nickel plus chrome
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Reference number
ISO 1456:2009(E)

© ISO 2009
ISO 1456:2009(E)

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Contents Page

Foreword............................................................................................................................................................ iv
Introduction ........................................................................................................................................................ v
1 Scope ..................................................................................................................................................... 1
2 Normative references ........................................................................................................................... 1
3 Terms and definitions........................................................................................................................... 2
4 Information to be supplied by the purchaser to the processor ....................................................... 3
4.1 Essential information ........................................................................................................................... 3
4.2 Additional information.......................................................................................................................... 3
5 Designation ........................................................................................................................................... 4
5.1 General................................................................................................................................................... 4
5.2 Designation specifications .................................................................................................................. 4
5.3 Service-condition number ................................................................................................................... 5
5.4 Type of copper coating ...................................................................................................................... 13
5.5 Types of nickel coating ...................................................................................................................... 13
5.6 Types and thicknesses of chromium................................................................................................ 14
6
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Requirements ...................................................................................................................................... 14
6.1 Appearance ......................................................................................................................................... 14
6.2
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Coating thickness ............................................................................................................................... 15
6.3 Double- and triple-layer nickel coatings........................................................................................... 15
6.4 ISO 1456:2009
Adhesion.............................................................................................................................................. 15
6.5 https://standards.iteh.ai/catalog/standards/sist/4582c99f-3893-417a-b165-
Corrosion resistance in CASS, Corrodkote and salt spray tests .................................................. 15
6.6 6691751c3d89/iso-1456-2009
STEP test requirements ..................................................................................................................... 15
6.7 Ductility................................................................................................................................................ 16
6.8 Stress-relief heat treatments before coating ................................................................................... 16
6.9 Hydrogen-embrittlement-relief treatment......................................................................................... 16
6.10 Sampling .............................................................................................................................................. 16
Annex A (informative) Determination of cracks and pores in chromium coatings ................................... 17
Annex B (normative) Methods of test for the determination of thickness ................................................. 20
Annex C (normative) Ductility test ................................................................................................................. 22
Annex D (normative) Determination of the sulfur content of electrodeposited nickel ............................. 23
Annex E (informative) Step test method ........................................................................................................ 24
Bibliography ..................................................................................................................................................... 25

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ISO 1456:2009(E)

Foreword
ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) is a worldwide federation of national standards bodies
(ISO member bodies). The work of preparing International Standards is normally carried out through ISO
technical committees. Each member body interested in a subject for which a technical committee has been
established has the right to be represented on that committee. International organizations, governmental and
non-governmental, in liaison with ISO, also take part in the work. ISO collaborates closely with the
International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) on all matters of electrotechnical standardization.

International Standards are drafted in accordance with the rules given in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2.

The main task of technical committees is to prepare International Standards. Draft International Standards
adopted by the technical committees are circulated to the member bodies for voting. Publication as an
International Standard requires approval by at least 75 % of the member bodies casting a vote.

Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of patent
rights. ISO shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.

ISO 1456 was prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TC 107, Metallic and other inorganic coatings,
Subcommittee SC 3, Electrodeposited coatings and related finishes.
iTeh STANDARD PREVIEW
This fourth edition cancels and replaces the third edition (ISO 1456:2003), which has been technically and
editorially revised. This edition also cancels and replaces ISO 1458:2002.
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 ISO 1456:2009(E)

Introduction
This International Standard is a revised version of ISO 1456:2003: Metallic coatings — Electrodeposited
coatings of nickel plus chromium and of copper plus nickel plus chromium incorporating ISO 1458:2002:
Metallic coatings — Electrodeposited coatings of nickel.

Decorative, electrodeposited nickel coatings, with and without copper undercoats and without chromium top-
coats, are suitable for applications in which tarnishing could be prevented by avoiding rubbing or handling in
service or by the use of topcoats other than chromium. They are also suitable for those applications where
tarnishing is of no importance. Corrosion resistance depends on the type and thickness of the coatings.

Decorative, electrodeposited nickel plus chromium and copper plus nickel plus chromium coatings are applied
to manufactured articles to enhance their appearance and corrosion resistance. Corrosion resistance depends
on the type and thickness of the coatings. In general, multilayer nickel coatings provide better corrosion
resistance than single-layer nickel coatings of equal thickness, and micro-discontinuous chromium coatings
provide better protection than conventional chromium.

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INTERNATIONAL STANDARD ISO 1456:2009(E)

Metallic and other inorganic coatings — Electrodeposited

coatings of nickel, nickel plus chromium, copper plus nickel
and of copper plus nickel plus chromium

WARNING — This International Standard may not be compliant with some countries’ health and safety
legislations and calls for the use of substances and/or procedures that may be injurious to health if
adequate safety measures are not taken. This International Standard does not address any health
hazards, safety or environmental matters and legislations associated with its use. It is the
responsibility of the user of this International Standard to establish appropriate health, safety and
environmentally acceptable practices and take suitable actions to comply with any national and
international regulations. Compliance with this International Standard does not in itself confer
immunity from legal obligations.

1 Scope
This International Standard specifies requirements for decorative nickel, nickel plus chromium, copper plus
iTeh STANDARD PREVIEW
nickel and copper plus nickel plus chromium coatings that are applied to iron, steel, zinc alloys, copper and
copper alloys, and to aluminium and aluminium alloys, to provide an attractive appearance and enhanced
(standards.iteh.ai)
corrosion resistance. Coating designations are specified that differ in thickness and type, and guidance is
given on selecting the coating designation appropriate for the service conditions to which the coated product
will be exposed. ISO 1456:2009
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This International Standard does not 6691751c3d89/iso-1456-2009
specify the surface condition required by the basis metal prior to the
coating process, and is not applicable to coatings on sheet, strip or wire in the non-fabricated form nor to
threaded fasteners or coil springs.

Requirements for decorative, electroplated copper plus nickel plus chromium coatings on plastic materials are
specified in ISO 4525. ISO 4526 and ISO 6158 specify requirements for coatings of nickel and chromium,
respectively, for engineering purposes.

2 Normative references
The following referenced documents are indispensable for the application of this document. For dated
references, only the edition cited applies. For undated references, the latest edition of the referenced
document (including any amendments) applies.

ISO 1463, Metallic and oxide coatings — Measurement of coating thickness — Microscopical method

ISO 2064, Metallic and other inorganic coatings — Definitions and conventions concerning the measurement
of thickness

ISO 2080, Metallic and other inorganic coatings — Surface treatment, metallic and other inorganic coatings —
Vocabulary

ISO 2177, Metallic coatings — Measurement of coating thickness — Coulometric method by anodic
dissolution

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ISO 1456:2009(E)

ISO 2361, Electrodeposited nickel coatings on magnetic and non-magnetic substrates — Measurement of
coating thickness — Magnetic method

ISO 2819, Metallic coatings on metallic substrates — Electrodeposited and chemically deposited coatings —
Review of methods available for testing adhesion

ISO 3497, Metallic coatings — Measurement of coating thickness — X-ray spectrometric methods

ISO 3543, Metallic and non-metallic coatings — Measurement of thickness — Beta backscatter method

ISO 3882, Metallic and other inorganic coatings — Review of methods of measurement of thickness

ISO 4519, Electrodeposited metallic coatings and related finishes — Sampling procedures for inspection by
attributes

ISO 4541:1978, Metallic and other non-organic coatings — Corrodkote corrosion test (CORR test)

ISO 9220, Metallic coatings — Measurement of coating thickness — Scanning electron microscope method

ISO 9587, Metallic and other inorganic coatings — Pretreatment of iron or steel to reduce the risk of hydrogen
embrittlement

ISO 9588, Metallic and other inorganic coatings — Post-coating treatments of iron or steel to reduce the risk
of hydrogen embrittlement

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ISO 10289, Methods for corrosion testing of metallic and other inorganic coatings on metallic substrates —
Rating of test specimens and manufactured articles subjected to corrosion tests
(standards.iteh.ai)
ISO 10587, Metallic and other inorganic coatings — Test for residual embrittlement in both metallic-coated
and uncoated externally-threaded articles and rods — Inclined
ISO wedge method
1456:2009
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ISO 15724, Metallic and other inorganic coatings — Electrochemical measurement of diffusible hydrogen in
6691751c3d89/iso-1456-2009
steels – Barnacle electrode method

ISO 16348, Metallic and other inorganic coatings — Definitions and conventions concerning appearance

ISO 27831-2, Metallic and other inorganic coatings — Cleaning and preparation of metal surfaces —
Part 2: Non-ferrous metals and alloys

3 Terms and definitions

For the purposes of this document, the terms and definitions given in ISO 2064, ISO 2080, ISO 9587,
ISO 9588 and ISO 16348 apply.

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 ISO 1456:2009(E)

4 Information to be supplied by the purchaser to the processor

4.1 Essential information

When ordering articles to be electroplated in accordance with this International Standard, the purchaser shall
provide the following information in writing, in, for example, the contract or purchase order, or on engineering
drawings:

a) a reference to this International Standard, ISO 1456, and the designation (see Clause 5);

b) the significant surfaces, to be indicated on drawings of the parts or by providing suitably marked
specimens;

c) the appearance required, e.g. bright, dull or satin, or high- or low-sulfur-containing bright, semi-bright or
dull (see 5.5 and 6.1); alternatively, samples showing the required finish or range of finishes may also be
supplied and approved by the purchaser, and used for comparison purposes (see 6.1);

d) the type of nickel coating, e.g. decorative, sulfur-containing bright, semi-bright, or satin containing a
lamellar structure; or high-sulfur-containing bright, semi-bright or dull containing a lamellar structure
without mechanical polishing; or dull or semi-bright with mechanical polishing; or sulfur-free dull or semi-
bright with a columnar structure without mechanical polishing; or double- or triple-layer coating (see 5.5
and 6.3);

e) the type of chromium coating, e.g. regular, black, micro-cracked or micro-porous (see 5.6);

f) iTeh STANDARD PREVIEW

the type of corrosion test to be used (see 6.5 and Table 6);

g)
(standards.iteh.ai)
the type of adhesion test and minimum local thickness to be used (see 6.4 and 6.2);

h) ISO 1456:2009
the extent to which defects shall be tolerated on non-significant surfaces (see 6.1);
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i) positions on the significant surface for rack or contact marks, where such marks are unavoidable
6691751c3d89/iso-1456-2009
(see 6.1);

j) the tensile strength of the steel and any requirement for stress relief for pre- or post-coating
embrittlement-relief treatments of iron or steel to reduce the risk of hydrogen embrittlement, as well as
hydrogen-embrittlement test methods (see 6.8 and 6.9);

k) sampling methods and acceptance levels (see 6.10).

4.2 Additional information

The following additional information shall also be provided by the purchaser, when appropriate:

a) any requirements for STEP testing and the type of test method (see 6.6);

b) thickness requirements on those areas that cannot be touched by a ball 20 mm in diameter (see 6.2);

c) whether or not a copper undercoat is required (see 5.2 and 5.4).

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ISO 1456:2009(E)

5 Designation

5.1 General

The designation shall appear on engineering drawings, in the purchase order, in the contract or in the detailed
product specification.

The designation specifies, in the following order, the basis metal, the specific alloy (optional), stress-relief
requirements, the type and thickness of undercoats (when present), the thickness and composition of the
nickel or nickel-alloy coating or coatings (when double or multilayer coatings are specified), and
supplementary treatments, such as heat treatment to reduce susceptibility to hydrogen embrittlement (for
designation, see the Bibliography).

5.2 Designation specifications

The coating designation specifies the basis metal and the types and thickness of coatings appropriate for
each service-condition number (see Tables 1 to 4 for various substrates and coatings) and comprises the
following:

a) the term, “Electroplated coating”, the number of this International Standard, ISO 1456, followed by a
hyphen;

b) the chemical symbol for the basis metal (or for the principal metal if an alloy) followed by a solidus (/) as
follows:

1) Fe/ for iron or steel; iTeh STANDARD PREVIEW

2) Zn/ for zinc or zinc alloys; (standards.iteh.ai)
3) Cu/ for copper and copper alloys; ISO 1456:2009
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4) Al/ for aluminium or aluminium alloys;6691751c3d89/iso-1456-2009

c) the chemical symbol for copper (Cu), if copper, or brass containing greater than 50 % copper, is used as
an undercoat;

d) a number indicating the minimum local thickness, in micrometres, of the copper coating, where
applicable;

e) a letter indicating the type of copper coating (see 5.4), where applicable;

f) the chemical symbol for nickel (Ni);

g) a number indicating the minimum local thickness, in micrometres, of the nickel coating;

h) a letter designating the type of nickel coating (see 5.5);

i) if a topcoat is to be applied over the nickel, its chemical symbol and a number indicating its minimum local
thickness; if the topcoat is an electrodeposited alloy, the chemical symbols of the principal alloy
constituents; for example, the chemical symbol for chromium (Cr) if chromium is the top coat;

j) for a chromium topcoat, a letter or letters designating the type of chromium and its minimum local
thickness (see 5.6);

k) the heat treatment requirements in brackets and designated as follows: the letters SR for stress-relief
heat treatment prior to electroplating, and/or the letters ER for hydrogen-embrittlement-relief heat
treatment after electroplating; in parentheses, the minimum temperature, in degrees Celsius (°C); the
duration of the heat treatment in hours (h).

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 ISO 1456:2009(E)

Solidi (/) shall be used to separate data fields in the designation corresponding to the different sequential
processing steps. Double separators or solidi indicate that a step in the process is either not required or has
been omitted (see the Bibliography).

It is recommended that the specific alloy be identified by its standard designation following the chemical
symbol of the basis metal; for example, its UNS number, or the national or regional equivalent may be placed
between the symbols < >. For example, Fe<G43400> is the UNS designation for one high-strength steel. (See
Bibliography.)

EXAMPLE

A coating on steel comprising 20 µm (minimum) ductile, levelling copper plus 30 µm (minimum) bright nickel plus 0,3 µm
micro-cracked chromium is designated as follows:

Electroplated coating ISO 1456 – Fe/Cu20a/Ni30b/Crmc

A coating on steel, when stress-relief heat treatment prior to application of any coating is applied at 200 °C for 3 h and
embrittlement-relief heat treatment after coating is applied at 210 °C for 8 h, is designated as follows:

Electrodeposited coating ISO 1456 – Fe/SR(200)3/Ni30b/ER(210)8/Crmc

For ordering purposes, the detailed product specification shall include not only the designation, but also clear written
statements of other requirements that are essential for the serviceability of a particular product (see Clause 4).

5.3 Service-condition number

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The service-condition number is used by the purchaser to specify the degree of protection required, as related
to the severity of the conditions to which a product is to be subjected, in accordance with the following scale:
(standards.iteh.ai)
1 Mild Service indoors in warm dry atmospheres, e.g. offices.
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Service indoors where condensation may occur, e.g. bathroom, kitchens.
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3 Severe Service outdoors where occasional or frequent wetting by rain or dew may occur,
e.g. outdoor furniture: bicycles, hospital goods.

4 Very severe Service outdoors in very severe conditions, e.g. components of automobiles,
boat fittings.

5 Exceptionally severe Service outdoors in exceptionally severe conditions where long-time protection,
such as longer than about 10 years, of the substrate is required, e.g. vehicle
components: bumpers, wheels.

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ISO 1456:2009(E)

Table 1 — Coatings on ferrous materials

Ni Cu + Ni Ni + Cr Cu + Ni + Cr

Partial designation in Service condition 1

Fe/Ni10p Fe/Cu10a/Ni5p Fe/Ni10p/Crr Fe/Cu10a/Ni5p/Crr

Fe/Ni10p/Crmc Fe/Cu10a/Ni5p/Crmc
Fe/Ni10p/Crmp Fe/Cu10a/Ni5p/Crmp
Fe/Ni10p/Crb Fe/Cu10a/Ni5p/Crb
Fe/Ni10s Fe/Cu10a/Ni5s Fe/Ni10s/Crr Fe/Cu10a/Ni5s/Crr
Fe/Ni10s/Crmc Fe/Cu10a/Ni5s/Crmc
Fe/Ni10s/Crmp Fe/Cu10a/Ni5s/Crmp
Fe/Ni10s/Crb Fe/Cu10a/Ni5s/Crb
Fe/Ni10b Fe/Cu10a/Ni5b Fe/Ni10b/Crr Fe/Cu10a/Ni5b/Crr
Fe/Ni10b/Crmc Fe/Cu10a/Ni5b/Crmc
Fe/Ni10b/Crmp Fe/Cu10a/Ni5b/Crmp
Fe/Ni10b/Crb Fe/Cu10a/Ni5b/Crb
Partial designation in Service condition 2

Fe/Ni20p Fe/Cu15a/Ni15p Fe/Ni20p/Crr Fe/Cu15a/Ni15p/Crr

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Fe/Ni15p/Crmc Fe/Cu15a/Ni10p/Crmc
Fe/Ni15p/Crmp Fe/Cu15a/Ni10p/Crmp
(standards.iteh.ai)
Fe/Ni15p/Crb Fe/Cu15a/Ni10p/Crb
Fe/Ni20s Fe/Cu15a/Ni15s ISOFe/Ni20s/Crr
1456:2009 Fe/Cu15a/Ni15s/Crr
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Fe/Ni15s/Crmc Fe/Cu15a/Ni10s/Crmc
6691751c3d89/iso-1456-2009
Fe/Ni15s/Crmp Fe/Cu15a/Ni10s/Crmp
Fe/Ni15s/Crb Fe/Cu15a/Ni10s/Crb
Fe/Ni20b Fe/Cu15a/Ni15b Fe/Ni20b/Crr Fe/Cu15a/Ni15b/Crr
Fe/Ni15b/Crmc Fe/Cu15a/Ni10b/Crmc
Fe/Ni15b/Crmp Fe/Cu15a/Ni10b/Crmp
Fe/Ni15b/Crb Fe/Cu15a/Ni10b/Crb
Fe/Ni20d Fe/Cu15a/Ni15d Fe/Ni20d/Crr Fe/Cu15a/Ni15d/Crr
Fe/Ni15d/Crmc Fe/Cu15a/Ni10d/Crmc
Fe/Ni15d/Crmp Fe/Cu15a/Ni10d/Crmp
Fe/Ni15d/Crb Fe/Cu15a/Ni10d/Crb

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