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General Tech Chrome removal

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R

RJCOX

Jedi Hopeful
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I did some horse trading and aquired a set of spline/wire wheel adapters and knock offs.

Caveat Emptor and all that I knew that there was a distinct possibility that A, they would be so worn out they would be unsafe and or B, they would be just plain wrong and not fit.

What I traded for them doesn't matter, but one could have said the same thing. We agreed to pay our own shipping and handling and provide tracking numbers as well as pics of the items before the deal was sealed. We both got what we wanted, and I'd like to think each of us feels they got the better end of the deal.

The adapters needed a bit of cleaning but shined up nice and the splines and threads look pristine. There were a few rust spots that left some light pitting on the backs but they look nice and shiny now.

The knock offs are a different story, but I did know what I was getting into. One shined up really good, two are covered in little tiny "bubbles" that more resemble a sheet of sandpaper. The last had the chrome peeling away. The chrome is now down to brass or bronze after a trip on the polishing wheels. There are bits of chrome on the ears and I'm trying to figure out how to safely strip them. I contemplated sanding but thought I'd put it out here first.

The metal isn't bunged up or gouged at all, just ugly chrome.
 
Chrome shops will remove and re-chrome them for you. They reverse the electrodes to de-chrome...and the chrome ends up back in their solution, so it actually helps them! One thing, though...I received a set of nuts that looked beautiful, but would not screw on. I studied them and realized the seller had them re-chromed, including the screw surface. The originals had little or NO chrome on the threads, so the thickness of the chrome was enough to ruin them!
 
A lot of this depends on what you are going to do with them. If you plan to have them rechromed, it's best just to let the plater deal with it. Supposedly, you can remove chrome electrolytically, in a weak sulfuric acid bath with the positive terminal connected to the chromed part, but that's never really worked for me. Often, "chrome" plating is really something else, often bright nickel, I suspect, and it can sometimes be laquered. Then, once you remove the chrome, there is probably nickel and copper under it, which have to be removed in different ways.

There's a reason why chrome plating is so expensive!
 
I suspect that the knock offs were original. Not sure what direction I was going to go with them. I thought stripping them would save a step (and maybe some money) if I had them rechromed.

I guess I'll save the effort and have them rechromed and let the shop deal with it. I can do one at a time so it wontwobe such a big hit at one time.
 
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