2070 – 09 – Nickel & Zinc Alloys
Nickel is white-silver in color. It’s extremely durable, malleable, and responds well to high polish. Furthermore, nickel has qualities similar to those of iron and steel, but it is significantly more resistant to corrosion. These properties make nickel a common choice for alloy metals. Alloys that are 60% nickel and 30% copper are some of the most resistant to corrosion. It is often used as plating metal.
Zinc is another non-ferrous metal frequently used for plating. When zinc is used to coat an iron-based metal, it becomes galvanized steel. Zinc is also used for die casting because of its low melting point.