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Removing the Chromium from an Airfix 1/12 scale Bentley


jenko

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Help !!

 

I am in the process of trying to remove the chromium from a 1/12 scale Airfix Bentley radiator, with NO success.

So far, I have tried:

a) brake fluid
b)Mr Muscle Oven Cleaner
c) Fairy Power Spray Oven Cleaner
d) Coca Cola (the original 'full fat' variety)
e) Air brush cleaner

 

Items have been soaked for 24-48 hours at a time.

 

Has any body got any idea of what else I can try. It seems the chromium on this kit is a very different animal to other chromiums.

 

TIA

 

Dick
 

Edited by jenko
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Caustic soda, bought from your local hardware store as granules (£1.99 for enough to last several years of chrome stripping), and handled very carefully. Wear rubber gloves, and work in a well ventilated area. Fill a good sized jam jar 2/3 with cold water, and stir in 2-3 tablespoons of powder a bit at a time, stirring with a gash wooden stick (Starbucks coffee stirrers are good...). It'll warm up and pong for a bit, but as long as you don't stick your nose over it, you'll be fine. Dump your parts in, and the "chrome" (actually aluminium) will fizz and disappear in seconds, literally. Leave them there for 5-10 minutes and you'll take off the varnish underneath as well (if there is any). That's the brownish stuff, if you can see it (I can't remember what colour the plastic under the chromed parts on the Bentley is. When they are cleaned, fill a washing up bowl with cold water, lift the parts out with steel tweezers or wooden sticks and drop them into the bowl of cold water. Flush the Caustic Soda mix down the sink, running lots of cold water as you pour it into the plughole (it'll clean out and degrease your pipes, which is what it's intended for, as a bonus!). Scrub the parts well with a toothbrush to get any last bits of half-detached varnish off, and let them dry. It's quicker to do than it is to describe, and I've been using caustic soda for several years with no mishaps. The solution doesn't affect plastic, so there's no issue with leaving the parts in the mix for longer than necessary. Just don't leave your jar full of solution around for more than 24 hours or so -- you start to get crystals forming around the top of jar, which need redissolving, which is a right pain.

 

Just do it carefully, and treat the stuff with some respect...

 

bestest,

M.

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Hi Dick,

Good quality household bleach (I use domestos, but other brands are available! :rolleyes: ) & this will shift the chrome plating. There will be a 'skin' residue left behind which can be peeled or sanded away.

try it & see,

Mark ;)

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  • 2 weeks later...

Anyone using Caustic Soda would be well advised to have some acid eg Vinegar, to hand to neutralise the Soda: it should be the first remedy for splashes, spills etc. Caustic Soda does not affect thermoplastics, so containment of work in plastic bags is a good precaution. Also well advised to wear Safety Glasses and Rubber Gloves: I'm a Chemist so know how to deal with such materials.

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