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Removing Chrome Plating


Casey429

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How long is everyone using Dawn power dissolver soaking the parts for?

Sean, please refer to my previous post. :lol:

HPIM1971.jpg

The parts in front of the bottle were done in about 4 hours.

Those parts required a slight bit of scrubbing with an old toothbrush, if you'd leave parts overnight, the chrome should almost just fall off.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I can't believe nobody's mentioned Castrol Super Clean (although the Walmart Purple Power is the same stuff). Either will strip the chrome and the undercoat in less than an hour (the plating will be gone in a minute or less). Why strip the undercoating? You're gonna take it off when you remove the mold lines, anyway.

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I've found Coca Cola works well for stripping chrome. It leaves the undercoat on, just takes off the chrome. And in the case of earth friendly, you don't get any better! Usually a day or two (if you can wait that long) and the chrome is gone. I use soap and water to wash the sugary brown liquid off the parts.

ColaChromeStripping4.jpg

ColaChromeStripping9.jpg

ColaChromeStripping13.jpg

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  • 2 months later...

The Dawn Power dissolver works like a charm ! 4 hours just as you claimed. Its gel consistency is nice being it sticks to the plating & works much faster then bleach & oven cleaner. And smells a lot better too :blink:

Thanks for the tip.

I'm glad you liked it and glad I could help. :D

As a little side note, I had just taken some parts from a project that I put in Power Dissolver a few months ago I had forgotten about, the chrome from them practically dissolved in the Dawn, just a quick wash with some water and the parts looked like they were fresh from the mold and never chromed.

EDIT: Here's a pic of those forgotten parts, the only cleanup was a quick wash off.

HPIM2887.jpg

Oh, and the engine block also had Tamiya Clear Red painted over the chrome as well! Both disappeared!

Edited by highway
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Here's my 2cents...

I've been using Drano and Liquid Plumber and it works 99% of the time.sometimes I have to leave the parts in for a nite or two.But for the most part it usually works any where from minutes to1-2 hrs.

The problem I was having was the undercoating,but this usually comes off with soap and water...

For the most part no complaints but I might try some of the above ideas... :D

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I use dish washing liquid. It the parts fit, I put them in a 24 oz soda bottle with the lid to contain the dish washing liquid smell...24 because I've been using it to strip sprue tree lengths as well.

Edited by Skydime
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I truly don't mean to be negative, but this is one of the most often-repeated subjects on all scale car building forums. Is there a way we can pin a tutorial or something on this subject? It's really very tiresome. People can be directed to those threads, rather than dealing with a new thread on the same thing over and over again for the 200th time. Pinned subjects can always be added to; but I feel like I'm wasting my time when I look for new answers and keep seeing the same old thing.

I would also hope for recommendations for pinned subjects in the Tutorials section for many other subjects that keep reappearing, such as:

How to use BMF

How do you make hinges?

Best primers and paints?

How to strip paint?

And you know the rest.

One of the problems is that this site has a totally useless search function, and it makes no sense to direct newbies to it. scaleautomag.com has an excellent search function, and I would direct people there.

Edited by sjordan2
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'Okay, all kinds of people swear by the following. Anyone have anything new? Why isn't this all we need in a pinned subject?

This should probably be the subject for a poll, but here's what members stand by for chrome stripping (in alphabetical order):

Regular Bleach

Brake fluid - Castrol Super Clean (CSC_ etc)

Coca-Cola

Dawn Power Dissolver

Drano

Easy Off oven cleaner - original yellow can

Liquid Plumbr

Oven-Off oven cleaner

Purple Power

Simple Green

Westley's Bleche-Wite

Window cleaner with Ammonia

Zep purple degreaser

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  • 3 months later...

As far as I'm concerned, you can't beat Purple Power or Super Clean for stripping paint and/or chrome from plastic parts. There are other methods, but the purple pond works fastest and safest, and it's the least toxic. Plus, once it's past its prime, it's biodegradeable so it is safe to pour it down a household drain.

Works for me!

;)

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No matter what method one uses for stripping chrome, the clear lacquer coating on the part still remains. After stripping chrome, I soak the part in Scalecoat Paint Remover (found at most model railroading oriented hobby shops.) It takes that off cleanly and quickly. Testors' ELO also works but not quite as efficiently. Once you take the lacquer layer off, its ready for paint.

Just my 2 cents.

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No matter what method one uses for stripping chrome, the clear lacquer coating on the part still remains. After stripping chrome, I soak the part in Scalecoat Paint Remover (found at most model railroading oriented hobby shops.) It takes that off cleanly and quickly. Testors' ELO also works but not quite as efficiently. Once you take the lacquer layer off, its ready for paint.

Just my 2 cents.

Sometimes the "purple stuff" will remove the clear undercoat, sometimes it doesn't. I use Chameleon paint stripper to get the tuff stuff.

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The best and most friendly product and the only thing I use to strip chrome is Dawn Power Dissolver. It works in as little as a couple hours, it has no fumes, and will strip both the chrome and the lacquer undercoat. These parts were done in about 3 or 4 hours, and required just a light scrubbing with an old toothbrush under the faucet to clean up.

HPIM1971.jpg

These were sort of "forgotten", and this was after maybe a week or two.

HPIM1972.jpg

When I finally was ready for the engine in my project, all it took was a quick rinse with water to look like this, no scrubbing involved!

HPIM2887.jpg

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