Posted by Huh-uh... on April 09, 2003 at 02:34:34:
In Reply to: Re: Re: Nickel Plating??? posted by js on April 08, 2003 at 23:11:39:
Maybe on cheap Asian saxes. But electrolytic black nickel uses a nickel anode and a special plating solution and really does deposit a conductive gray-to-black coating. Sometimes a clear lacquer is used to protect black nickel as it's a bit porous and the base metal can corrode in harsh environments. You can either plate a bright nickel undercoat or coat the black nickel with a clear lacquer.
Below is a URL that talks about black nickel and also gives some info on nickel contact dermatitis.
Ruthenium can also be plated for a gray-to-black color, but it's darned near as expensive as platinum...