How to strip chrome plating
I was recently given a couple of Walther PPKs that some knucklehead did a poor job of chrome plating about 25 years ago. At first I thought it was nickle and tried nickel stripping solutions but after it did nothing I realized it was chrome.
Anyone know of a home do-it-yourself way to strip chrome without damaging the underlying steel or proof marks?
Anyone know of a home do-it-yourself way to strip chrome without damaging the underlying steel or proof marks?
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Hello Crome plateing is ELECTRO plateing by reverseing the polarity you will take the plateing off .If you have a poor plateing job when you strip the plateing the gun will have to be reblued if there are defects in the plateing there will more than likely be defects in the gun. 0 -
Yes, you can unplate chrome with DC electricity. You need about 2 Volts, DC. Most any salt solution will work, as you are trying to remove stuff... It would be much more critical what your solution was if you were putting it on. Attach the anode (-) side to your piece to be stripped. The cathode (+) can be most anything, here, as long as it conducts electricity.
Make sure your power source can handle the high amperages.
"Every child had a pretty good shot,
To get at least as far as their old man got,
But something happened on the way to that place,
They threw an American flag in our face."
-Billy Joel, "Allentown"0 -
Please be careful of trying to "unplate" chrome as described above. If you plan to do it, set it up and try it on scrap beforehand. I have no successful experience in removing chrome. I do have a lot of experience in the setup described above in replacing lettering on guns. A SALT WATER ELECTROLYTE CAN EAT UP STEEL!
The method above can be used to sharpen dull files, quickly distress new parts installed on an antique and properly masked, be used to mark steel with number, lettering or designs.
Been there, done that - and can prove it!0 -
Chunkstyle,
I'd like to use this method to clean files and even try it on thoroughly wetted honing stones. Would the positive (cathode) side be attached to the vessel (can, bucket) that is holding the solution??
How much amperage are we talking about here? I guess I could adapt an electronic bore cleaner for this purpose?
"They're in front of us, they're behind us, they're to our left and to our right...they can't get away now." Chesty Puller
SEMPER FI0 -
What I do is put about a tablespoon of salt in a quart or so of water in a glass or plastic container, best transparent so you can see what is going on. Attach a piece of lead to a wire. I use sheet lead about 1 to 2 square inch area, attach to negative. You could use a few fishing sinkers, bullets or whatever. Attach the positive wire to the work and put on 3 to 6 volts DC. I have used three flashlite batteries to get 4 1/2 VDC. Since I do quite a lot of it I normally use a rectified variac for power source. I have never checked for amperage.
I doubt it will clean files but it will sharpen dull (but clean) files. For a small 6 - 8" file try it for about two minutes and take it out and try the file. I once ruined a nice file by leaving it in too long when I was called to the phone. Something else to experiment with is coat a piece of iron with wax all over and with a ball point pen write your initials in. Being sure you get thru the wax down to the bare metal. Then put it in as above for about 5 minutes and clean off the wax.0
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