Fuel filler pipe

Abstract

A fuel additive pipe 11 comprised of a pipe main body 12 and a plating layer 13 formed on the external or interior wall surface of the pipe main body 12 and composed of an electroless plating layer 131 and an electroplating layer 132. The pipe main body 12 contains a high-density polyethylene as a base material and an additive 21 such as mica. While the pipe main body 12 is subjected to an etching treatment, the additive 21 does not dissolve in the etching solution, so that the additive 21 protrudes from the surface of the pipe main body 12. The thus protruding additive 21 serves as the starting point for forming the electroless plating layer 131 and promotes growth of the layer 131. This electroless plating layer 131 is firmly bonded with the pipe main body 12 by chemical absorption to the additive 21 from which inactive sites are removed by the etching treatment as well as by the physical absorption to the fine roughness formed by the etching treatment on the surface of the pipe main body 12.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.