Coating and annealing low carbon steel 1

[zzag]

I have a design where a magnet will be sliding on a magnetic surface (only need a life of ~10 cycles of magnet sliding on surface). I've selected a rare earth magnet that has a polished surface. Per the tips here I'm going with thin, annealed 1018 CRS for the magnetic plate. I need a corrosion prevention for that plate. What are the recommendations (e.g. plating, black oxide, etc) so as to minimize loss of magnetism? And, what are the sequence of events to get to the annealed and coated?

Thanks in advance!

 

[MagMike]

I recommend electroless nickel plating on the 1018 CRS steel. It is a common practice and at mid to high phosphorous levels, electroless nickel plating is non-ferromagnetic. Plating thickness will be a compromise between adequate corrosion protection & performance (the thicker the coating, the larger the air gap between steel & magnet). Usually a coating thickness between .0005" and .0010" is sufficient.

Here is a link to a good article about electroless nickel coating (on steel):

http://www.pfonline.com/articles/pfd0024.html

One usually anneals the steel before coating.