This category covers the wide range of plating services designed to provide protection against corrosion, an increase in physical properties (such as hardness), and some kind of decorative finish to metal and nonmetal products. Both a variety of processes and end results are involved, and many companies concentrate on a limited number of them -- or even just one in particular -- while others offer a quite diversified list of capabilities. As far as possible, these differences are reflected in the allocation of sites to either this main category or those that recognize a predominant -- or even total -- focus on one given process rather than the others.

Note: Many plating companies also offer (wet) painting and (dry) powder coating services and, provided neither process is the major part of the business, can be justifiably included in this main category or one of its subcategories. Where, however, either painting or coating is the overriding service, a site will -- and should -- be more appropriately listed in the Business/Industries/Manufacturing/Casting,_Molding,_Machining/Surface_Treating category.

Additional note: Metal polishing is a further service that can be among a plating company's capabilities, but if this feature is the dominant one, the site more properly belongs in either the Polishing subcategory or the Bus/Ind/Mfg/CstMldgMchng/Surface_Treatment one -- with, once again, the recognizable business emphasis determining the particular allocation.