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world gathers for metal finishing
Q&As since 1989


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Non-cyanide Nickel Strippers

I would like to know who makes non-cyanide nickel strippers.

Robert Kestler
- Cherry Point, North Carolina
1998

Metalx (Ronatec.us) [a finishing.com supporting advertiser] has a family of B9 strippers that are good. Depends what you are stripping it off of. Acid might do the trick and it might destroy the part. IE:, not enough information given.

James Watts
- Navarre, Florida
1997

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Enthone Enstrip NP takes Ni off Cu like candy and I've never had Cu base metal attack, but it doesn't seem to have much staying power. The solution becomes spent quite easily. Realize that Enthone makes over 20 strippers all named Enstrip, so you must get the correct one to avoid base metal problems. Patclin Chemical Co.(ed. note: now Accu-Labs, Inc. [a finishing.com supporting advertiser]) also has a line of killer strippers. So does Udylite.

Good Luck

Dave Kinghorn
Chemical Engineer
SUNNYvale, California
1997

If you are stripping from steel why don't you consider using an electrolytic strip based on Sodium Nitrate [affil links]. These work well without any base metal attack. You have to have a fairly high current density, and there should be no brazing on your components. Welding can be attacked if C.D. is too low , or when the tank gets old.

Raymond Sebba
- Capetown, South Africa
1997

For stripping nickel off cu, you might try a 50-50 mixture of nitric and muriatic acid [affil links]. It works reliably with tin on copper with no attack on the base metal. Caution must me exercised when using this mixture. For stripping nickel off aluminum, you might try a mixture of 6 gallons nitric, 2 gallons of water, and about a quart of muriatic acid. If you use to much muriatic it will attack the aluminum. Good Luck.

Phil Pace
- Tulsa, Oklahoma
1997