Brett Larick, Columbia Chemical president, says the passivate works well over acid chloride zinc in both ammoniated and non-ammoniated systems, and on cyanide zinc, alkaline cyanide-free zinc and zinc-iron/cobalt alloy deposits.

He says the simple three-part system — which allows for maximum color control and provides a consistent black appearance — was released earlier to an initial round of plating facilities where it met with great success.

“We have invested heavily in our research and development sector over the past few years,” Larick says. “We are pleased to be able to come to market with proven products that are solving the challenges of our customers and simplifying surface finishing as a whole.”

Columbia’s technical field team reported numerous positive comments from customers who liked the consistent and considerably darker finish, and the rugged bath that maintains its integrity and salt spray results.

Jeffrey Boehmer, director of domestic business at Columbia Chemical, says they had several goals in mind when developing ColDip Midnight 1500.

“Obviously we wanted to provide the best corrosion protection, but we really wanted to make this easy to use for our customer and not make it cost prohibitive,” he says. “It’s a very straightforward application, and it’s based off a product that we introduced over a year ago, but with a simple three-part system to offer better control.”

Boehmer says the new, easy-to-control, cost-effective black passivate is a strong addition to Columbia Chemical’s existing line of trivalent chromium-based passivates, which are hexavalent chromium-free and comply with current ELV, RoHS and REACH regulations. The products offer a trivalent passivation layer that is clear, blue, yellow, black or iridescent.

“There is a greater consistency of color through a wide density range,” Boehmer says of the additional benefits of ColDip Midnight 1500.

Using feedback from shops on Columbia Chemical’s two-part system has made the newer processes even better for its customers, he says.

“We’ve gotten quite a bit of traction with the two-part system being out there, and the ColDip Midnight 1500 does everything and more,” Boehmer says. “With a more simple system, we are also able to do a better cost analysis on how we can reduce a shop’s processing expenses, which is a huge advantage.”

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