Fengfan FF-5130 is an alkaline copper-tin electrolyte that deposits a decorative gold-coloured alloy straight onto prepared parts. Copper and tin come out of the same bath as one alloy layer, so the colour belongs to the metal itself rather than to a dye, a lacquer or a conversion film. It does not rub off in handling, and it does not slide towards yellow or brown as the layer is built up. The deposit is a copper-tin alloy, not a single-metal tin electroplating layer, and that ratio between the two metals is what produces the warm gold tone.
The process was developed as a direct replacement for cyanide gold imitation and pyrophosphate gold imitation. A shop already set up for industrial metal plating keeps the same position in the line and the same rectifier when it moves across; what changes is the tank chemistry. There is no cyanide and no phosphorus compound in the bath, so rinse water and spent plating solution are simpler to treat than the streams the older processes leave behind.
Colour work is the main job, but not the only one. The bath is equally comfortable laying a thin decorative coat over a bright underlayer or building a heavier layer on small parts that have to keep their finish through wear. It belongs to the wider family of coating production chemicals Fengfan supplies for decorative finishing, so make-up components, additives and the chemistry around the bath come from one source rather than three.
| Parameter | Function in the bath | Range | Optimum |
|---|---|---|---|
| Complexing agent (FF-5130 M) | Holds copper and tin in the same solution so the two metals plate out together as one alloy rather than as separate layers | 350–450 ml/L | 400 ml/L |
| Tin salt (FF-5130RS) | Supplies the tin half of the deposit and is the one make-up component that is topped up as the bath works | 200–300 ml/L | 250 ml/L |
| Copper sulphate (CuSO4·5H2O) | Supplies the copper half of the alloy; the balance between the two metals is what produces the warm gold tone | 24–36 g/L | 30 g/L |
| Temperature | Governs bath activity and deposition rate; keeping within the band keeps the plated result steady | 35–40 °C | 38 °C |
| pH | Keeps the complexed copper and tin stable in the alkaline range, which is where the alloy forms properly | 10.5–11.0 | 10.8 |
| Cathode current density | The band across which the alloy ratio, and therefore the colour, stays consistent from part to part | 0.2–3.0 A/dm² | 1.0 A/dm² |
The bath is only as steady as the hardware around it, and the requirements are modest — all of them standard fittings on an industrial electroplating line.
Tank and heating. PVC or polypropylene is sufficient. Heat with a titanium serpentine steam tube, a titanium electric heating pen or a quartz electric heating pen; the working range of 35–40 °C sits well inside what any of those units handle.
Filtration. Run continuous filtration through a PP filter element, 1 µm porosity preferred and 5 µm at the outside. Soak new elements in 10% potassium hydroxide at 60 °C for several hours and rinse them before use. Size the filter pump for five turnovers of the bath volume per hour — that is what keeps the plating solution clean and, just as importantly, keeps it moving.
Agitation. Air agitation and the return flow from the filter run together. The pair is what produces an even coat without pinholes, on flat panels and inside recesses alike.
Anode and rectifier. Electrolytic copper anodes in anode bags, with a cathode-to-anode area ratio of 1:2 to 1:4. The rectifier has to deliver the amperage the workload needs with ripple below 5%, and it should carry an ammeter, a voltmeter and a continuous current trimmer; the ammeter is not optional. Filtration and agitation are the two variables that most often decide whether a metal plating process produces an even colour, so they are worth getting right once.
Day-to-day running is deliberately short. Only the tin salt needs scheduled addition; the complexing agent and the copper sulphate leave the bath mainly through drag-out, so the daily routine is a check rather than a rebuild. Fewer drums stand open on the floor, less time goes into analysis, and the plating solution stays close to its make-up ratio for longer.
The wide current density band does quiet work on a mixed rack. Parts with deep recesses and parts with sharp high-current edges can share one load without either end going pale or dark, which is where most re-racks and touch-ups come from.
Two absences matter as much as the presences. There is no cyanide to store, handle or destroy in the rinse stream, and no phosphorus compound to precipitate out as sludge in the wastewater plant. For a shop coming off a cyanide gold electroplating line, both change what the operators do at the tank and what the effluent plant has to carry.
The installation itself asks for nothing unusual: standard tank materials, a standard rectifier, standard filtration — all within what an industrial electroplating line already has. A shift team learns the bath in a week, and the first production run looks much like the trial.
| Payment | 100% T/T in advance |
| Minimum order quantity | Varies by chemical; confirmed with our sales team per order |
| Lead time | 2 weeks |
| Packing | 10 kg/box; 25 kg or 50 kg/bag; 20 kg/25 kg/30 kg/200 kg/drum; 1000 kg/IBC drum |
| Shipping | Per the terms agreed in the current contract |
| Warranty | Inspection certificate issued after delivery stating the batch number and warranty period |
The copper-tin alloy electrolyte runs with dependable operating characteristics, holding a uniform current distribution across plated surfaces with only minimal adjustment. Production capacity stays steady, so manufacturers can keep long-term operations going without significant interruptions. That balance serves both laboratory testing and full-scale applications, particularly where plating chemicals are needed to sustain quality. Because it integrates readily into existing finishing systems, it supports processes that call for reliable electro nickel plating and controlled layering of metal alloys.
FF-5130 is formulated for compatibility with existing electroplating lines, including those running electro nickel plating and zinc nickel plating. Its cyanide-free and phosphorus-free design improves safety and environmental compatibility on the shop floor. The modular chemistry, built around the FF-5130 M complexing agent and FF-5130RS tin salt, allows replenishment strategies to be adapted to the line rather than the other way round. These plating chemicals hold a stable copper-tin distribution across wide current density ranges, which keeps coating characteristics predictable and bath maintenance straightforward for professional metal plating service facilities refining their processes.
Choosing the right match is where most sourcing decisions stall. As a trading supplier, we keep one point of contact from first enquiry to after-sales: tell us what you are making and the conditions you work under, and we shortlist the closest matches from our supplier network, compare specifications and arrange samples before you commit to a bulk order. If something does not behave as expected, we work with the supplying partner on the cause and a practical fix, and stay with the case until it is settled. Email, WeChat or WhatsApp enquiries get a reply within 24 hours.
It forms the gold-coloured layer itself. Copper and tin are co-deposited as a single alloy, and the ratio between them sets the shade, so the finish is made by the metal rather than by a dye or a post-treatment. That is also why the colour survives handling, lacquering and assembly instead of wearing through at edges.
Yes. High-volume work is what the bath was designed around: the composition is held by two liquid components plus copper sulphate, and the shade stays level across a wide current band, so a long run does not need constant nursing. Shops already running industrial electroplating lines will recognise the equipment — what changes is the chemistry, not the plant.
It works alongside them rather than inside them. The alloy is normally deposited as the colour layer over a bright nickel underlayer, so the nickel step and the gold step stay in separate tanks within the same metal plating process sequence. Tell us which underlayer you use and we will advise on the thickness for the colour coat.
In an industrial metal plating bath like this one, each component has a single job. The complexing agent keeps copper in solution at the alkaline pH the process runs at, the tin salt supplies the alloying metal, and copper sulphate supplies the copper. Because the two metals have to stay in ratio for the colour to hold, the tin salt is the component that gets routine attention; the others are topped up mainly to replace drag-out.
It is built for them. A job shop needs a bath that tolerates mixed loads, holds a shade across repeat orders and does not put a new hazard on the floor, and this process is balanced for exactly that. For buyers sourcing coating production chemicals in commercial volumes, the practical difference shows up as predictability: the same shade on the first rack of a trial and on the last rack of the run.
Three habits do most of the work: keep the tin salt inside its range, keep the filter actually circulating rather than merely installed, and keep a retained colour panel from an approved batch to compare against under the same light. When a shade drifts, the panel usually shows whether the cause is chemistry or lighting.
Tell us the base metal, the underlayer and the shade reference. Imitation gold is normally the final colour layer over a bright deposit, and some substrates need a strike or an intermediate layer before the alloy goes on. A trial panel on your own parts settles both the adhesion question and the colour question before a production bath is mixed.
