The main salt refers to the salt in the plating solution that can deposit the required coating metal on the cathode, used to provide metal ions. The concentration of main salt in the plating solution must be within an appropriate range. Increasing or decreasing the concentration of main salt, while other conditions remain unchanged, will have an impact on the electrodeposition process and the final coating structure. For example, as the concentration of the main salt increases, the current efficiency increases, the metal deposition speed accelerates, the coating grains are coarser, and the solution dispersion ability decreases.

 In some cases, if the metal ions of the main salt in the plating solution are simple ions, the grain size of the coating will be coarse. Therefore, a plating solution with complex ions should be used. The method of obtaining complex ions is to add a complexing agent, which is a substance that can form a complex by complexing metal ions of the main salt. A complex is a "molecular compound" formed by the interaction of simple compounds. In a plating solution containing complex compounds, the main factor affecting the electroplating effect is the relative content of the main salt and the complexing agent, that is, the free amount of the complexing agent, rather than the absolute content.

 Additives refer to substances that do not significantly change the conductivity of the coating, but can significantly improve the performance of the coating. According to their role in the plating solution, additives can be divided into: brighteners, leveling agents, and fog suppressants.

Buffer refers to a substance used to stabilize the acidity and alkalinity of a solution. This type of substance is generally composed of weak acids and weak acid salts or weak bases and weak base salts, which can reduce the amplitude of pH changes in the solution when it encounters bases or acids.

The substance in the plating solution that can promote anode activation is called anode activator. The function of anode activator is to increase the current density at which the anode begins to passivate, thereby ensuring that the anode is in an activated state and can dissolve normally. When the content of anode activator is insufficient, the anode dissolution is abnormal, and the content of the main salt decreases rapidly, affecting the stability of the plating solution. In severe cases, electroplating cannot proceed normally.

 Factors affecting electroplating quality;

 PH value, additives, current density, current waveform, temperature, stirring speed, etc.

 Electroplating can be done with different metals, such as zinc plating, nickel plating, chromium plating.