This specification establishes the requirements for several grades and types of electrodeposited copper plus nickel plus chromium coatings on plateable plastic substrates where appearance, durability and resistance to thermal cycling are important to service performance. The coatings covered here are applied subsequent to the application of metal film by autocatalytic deposition or of any strike coatings after autocatalytic deposition. Each coating shall be designated a classification code, which comprises of the following numbers and symbols: service condition number, which indicates the severity of exposure for which the coating is intended; coating classification number, which contains the chemical symbol of each metallic element that comprises the coating, and their corresponding thickness; and symbols for expressing the type of coating. The coatings shall be sampled, tested, and conform to specified requirements as to appearance (visual defects), ductility, minimum thickness (inspected either by coulometric, microscopical, or beta backscatter methods), corrosion and thermal cycling resistance, adhesion, sulfur content, density, and discontinuities.

1.1 This specification covers the requirements for several grades and types of electrodeposited copper plus nickel plus chromium coatings on plateable plastic substrates where appearance, durability and resistance to thermal cycling are important to service performance. Five grades of coatings are provided to correlate with the service conditions under which each is expected to provide satisfactory performance.

1.2 This specification covers the requirements for coatings applied subsequent to the application of metal film by autocatalytic deposition or subsequent to the application of any strike coatings after autocatalytic deposition.

1.3 The following caveat pertains only to the test method portions of Section 6, Annex A1, and Appendix X2, Appendix X3, and Appendix X4 of this specification. This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.