How do you determine what type of chrome you have? I have some old school parts that are chrome that have some degradation to the surface and I would like to clean them up and redo them but Chromate Chrome and Nickel Chrome have different methods for removing the old chrome and I really do not want to go the abrasive method (tolerances).
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"When you are asked if you can do a job, tell 'em, 'Certainly I can!' Then get busy and find out how to do it." - Theodore Roosevelt
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I've always saw chrome as being "colder" colored slightly blue where nickel looks "redder" -
At work we test with muriatic acid. Its destructive testing so that may not be your thing. It will burn off and bubble the zinc and wont do a thing to chrome.
We mostly stick to zinc plating with clear trivalent chromate on top.
I can tell by eye which is different but thats just because I look at the stuff every day.Comment
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Straight muriatic (HCL) or diluted? I have areas that in the end are not cosmetically exposed. I did not think of Polished Zinc plating that is clear coated as a potential. Do you know is this was done with PB parts? -
We use the general muriatic acid from home depot or lowes. Sold for pool use or etching concrete
zinc plating and hot dip galvanizing will "white rust" and get dusty. The chromate coating prevents that.
People tend to use chrome plating for increased durability and for aesthetic purposes. Zinc plating is for corrosion resistance. I would think paintball products would lean more towards chrome vs zinc. But you also have to account for nickel plating too. -
Well nickel boron nitride is awesome for internals, but not on aluminum. The softer aluminum will deform under the nickel, and the nickel will flake off like paint chips. If internals were made of steel or brass, then it would be more feasible, but paintball markers are pretty much all aluminum these days.
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I sit next to another chemist who has a chrome shop as a side gig. He says:
“chrome” = substrate + copper + nickel + chrome (either chrome 6(old) or chrome 3)
chrome is very hard to plate well on aluminum because the aluminum oxidizes so quickly.
to take off the chrome+nickel use sulfuric acid in a bucket and a battery hooked up with a lead anode and your part as a cathode. That will leave only the copper which needs to be buffed off.
edit: also he says nickel looks yellow next to chrome.Comment
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