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Stripping chrome plating from aluminum

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Q. I would like to have some help on a cost effective system of stripping chrome - nickel - copper from our aluminium products.

The aluminium product is first coated with copper then nickel and finally chrome.

My intention is to strip the product to it aluminium base.

N.Vijay Kumar
- Visakhapatnam,AP, India

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A. For Cr - 200 g/l HCl for Cu and Ni - 300 g/l HNO3.

Andrej Abrosimov
- Kokkola, Finland

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Vijay Kumar!

A. If you have to strip copper nickel and chrome on aluminum substrate.

1. First you have to strip chrome by using hydrochloric acid or reverse current in electroclenaer solution.

2. After stripping chrome, rinse the parts in water then transfer to nitric acid for stripping nickel and copper.

Popat Patel     plating shop Roseville, Michigan

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Q. How can I remove old chrome plating from motorcycle parts? They are made of aluminum, about 30 years old. Thanks

Ben Press
choppers - Doylestown, Pennsylvania

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April 9, 2010

A. Hi, Ben. Decorative chrome is always a heavy layer of nickel plating followed by a thin flash of chromium (please see our Introduction to Chrome Plating). The chrome is removed easily and almost instantly (but not necessarily safely) by a dip in muriatic acid [linked by editor to product info at Amazon], but the nickel is harder to remove. The site's supporting advertiser, Metalx, offers their B-9 line of strippers for this purpose.

In general, though, this is a job you farm out to a plating shop rather than do yourself because of the waste products and the hazardous materials that are involved. Good luck.

Regards,

Ted Mooney, P.E. finishing.com Brick, New Jersey