Tin Plating

Tin plating is both soft and very ductile. The color of matte tin is gray-white and bright tin has a very high luster in fused condition and is silver in appearance. Corrosion resistance is fair, with coated items meeting 24 hour 5% salt spray requirement; solderability is excellent. Tin is not good for low temperature applications because it changes structure and loses adhesion when exposed to temperatures below -40C.

A bright finish can be provided on tin by specifying Bright Tin plate. The deposit shows excellent corrosion resistance and solderability. Tin Lead (available Reel-to-Reel only) also has excellent solderability. A matte finish is preferred on electronic components because of the phenomenon of wiskering, which can lead to the short-circuiting of electrical components.