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Blue Chrome defect in hard chrome plating

April 27, 2022
Q. I am a chemical engineer working in a plating shop where we Chrome plated parts, but in these last days during the application of the hard chrome we have many parts with blue Chrome. Any idea what is happening?
Your comments are welcome.
Michael.
- Montreal Canada
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"Hard Chromium Plating"
by Robert K. Guffie
from Abe Books
or
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A. Hi Michael. We'll have to see what someone else says because I have never even heard of such an issue :-(
If you could send a photo to mooney@finishing.com for posting here it might help. Thanks.
Luck & Regards,

Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
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April 28, 2022
A. Hello, Michael,
I've never worked with hard chrome, so I don't have practical experience, but I've read that blue chrome deposits means an iron contamination higher than 15 g/L and that this is more common in hard chrome than in decorative.
In this technical manual I'm reading, it is also written that there are no easy means to remove this contamination, just diluting the bath.
Also, is Hull Cell a common test for hard chrome? If so, it should give you some hints.
Some photos would also help finding the answer to your problem.
Hope this helps you.
Regards,
Chemical Engineer - Nova Friburgo, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
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