Adjust to pH 8-10 with ammonia. Maintain pH at 8-10 with ammonia while plating. Bath temperature: 190 F (room temperature for plastics). Note: Sodium citrate is used in electroless nickel plating baths where the citrate chelates the nickel and allows the operator to regulate its release onto the substrate which can be metal or plastic. The thickness of the plate, porosity, luster, and hardness are controlled by the citrate. This plating bath is based on the chemical catalytic reduction of a nickel salt to the metal by sodium hypophosphite. A salt of a precious metal such as gold, platinum, or palladium may be necessary in catalytic amounts to activate the reduction process. This bath will plate at a rate of about 0.3 mil/h at 190 F on metal or at a lower rate at room temperature on plastic. U.S Patent 2,532,283.