how to tell if pins are palladium plated

[shutterup]

I searched but all I came up with is how to process. How would I test if pins are palladium plated or silver or solder. I have a bucket of unknown plated pins. :?:

 

[lazersteve]

Dissolve a small sample in dilute nitric acid and test with DMG or stannous chloride for Pd.

Test a second portion of the sample with table salt or HCl to detect silver.

Steve

 

[teclu]

Hello,

Or if you do not have DMG or stannous, as Mr.Steve said, you can test so:

after you've dissolved a sample in acid, add first NaCl (table salt)in this sample solution, if the silver is present you'll see a precipitate, then filtered solution and insert a piece of copper in your nitrate solution, if the Pd is present a thin black film start to cement on your copper.In this way, I recovered Pd on my pins...(thanks again Mr.Harold!)

teclu

 

[Lino1406]

If nitric does not act it may be nickel
(Red with DMG)

 

[Harold_V]

If nitric does not act it may be nickel
(Red with DMG)

Only after raising the pH. A drop of ammonium hydroxide in a drop of the unknown solution should turn it dark blue, then if there's nickel present, a drop of DMG will shift the color to pink.

Harold

Edit: Thanks, Lino. Don't have a clue why I said palladium! My error has been corrected to nickel.

 

[Lino1406]

But Palladium = yellow. Pink - that's Ni

 

[g_axelsson]

If you suspect tin plated pins, just rub it hard against a white paper. Tin is soft enough to rub off and leave a gray streak.

/Göran

 

[shutterup]

thanks, i think i got a bunch of mixed stuff but not a lot of goodies.