I was wondering what is easy safe way to remove the chrome plating that is put on by the company for auto kits?
Soak the sprue in Purple Power overnight in a plastic container with a lid. You can actually save the PP for later reuse when you are done. Handle the PP with gloves as it will cause chemical burns. Use lots of water if disposing down the drain. Use a soft toothbrush and a toothpick to get all the gooey undercoat out from nooks and crannies.
Windex works great. Add a little ammonia to hasten the process.
Depending how much you need to modify the parts, you can prime them with a good metal primer, then gloss black and chrome or polished aluminun Alclad.
SuperClean will also remove it. In fact, I first tried using SuperClean to strip anything, based on a post at the Agape Models forum, where someone used it to strip the chrome from the Tamiya chromed P-51D kit.
I used it to strip the chrome from the chromed sprues in the Monogram Red Baron hot rod kit.
I used an old glass baking dish to hold the sprues, and poured enough of the liquid over them to cover them. I could see the chrome dissolve into the solution, and in 2 minutes, all of it was gone. The plastic was literally squeaky-clean-no chrome, and no grease or oil of any kind, just bare plastic.
Since then, I have used SC to strip paint from styrene, metal, and resin, and I also use a couple of drops of it in warm water, to clean kit parts before working with them.
It has a lot of other uses, too, so it satisfies my Dutchy sense.
You could just try using ammonia straight out of the bottle, then. It’s the active ingredient in Windex and similar glass cleaners. Windex is just a weaker solution than ammonia in the bottle.
Easy off oven cleaner in the yellow can works well, strips paint too.
Simple green works with most chrome plated parts. Soak for 24 hours or so and the chrome is gone. Doesnt hurt the plastic and is enviromentally safe.
I think of two problems right off the bat with oven cleaners, like Easy Off, compared to Super Clean and Simple Green.
One is that oven cleaners are far more caustic than either liquid, even though lye is the active ingredient in both oven cleaners and Super Clean (the active ingredients in Simple Green are alcohols, look here: https://simplegreen.com/ingredient-disclosure/). The fumes from oven cleaners are much more intense. You should definitely wear gloves and have good ventilation when you use them. It’s a good idea to use gloves and ventilation with Super Clean, but in my experience, the causticity and the fumes are not as severe as with oven cleaners.
The other problem is that oven cleaner is a once-and-done product. You spray some out, use it, and then rinse it away. Using Super Clean and Simple Green, you can use a batch over and over. I keep glass jars of various sizes to soak different pieces and strip the paint.
AGREED!
I tried that nasty stuff one time and NEVER again!
I haven’t tried Super Clean to remove chrome. Mostly because I didn’t have any on hand and I wasn’t going out to buy any, but, I did have some Clorox and it works great too. Much less expensive than nasty oven cleaner too!
Thanks, Jim, I forgot to mention that advantage, too-it’s cheap. At a little more than eight bucks a gallon, and reusable, it stretches your dollar. More money for kits!
I’ve used regular household Bleach to do the job for years. I keep a large mayonaisse jar about 3/4 full on the bench. Just drop the parts in and put the top back on. About every 5 or 10 minutes or so slosh it around and you’ll see the chrome coming off. When it looks clean, take the parts out and clean in a little Dawn and water with a toothbrush. Most parts will come clean in about an hour or so. I have forgotten about some and left them overnight. No problem. When you remember them, take them out and clean as above. The Bleach lasts a long time.
Hope that this helps.
Jim [cptn]
Lowfly;
I don’t know about you, but, I took a Fresh bottle of " Simple Green" and I was very dissappointed in it’s performance. Took over 48 hours to do what you are saying it does in 24. So I just use Oven Cleaner. The spray on kind. There is a layer of Lacquer on the plastic that the " Simple Green " just couldn’t seem to cut!
I agree. It’s much slower. Yes it does the job, but it takes a tiny amount of easy off and it’s done in a few minutes if not a few seconds depending on the part and chrome plating. I’ve used bleach too, but easy off is the quickest.
Clorox will remove it in minutes, simple and fast.
Rince in tap water and dry. Sand any seams etc then spray gloss black enamel like Testors in the small bottle and let it dry overnight. Next day shoot it with Alclad Chrome and it will look like real chrome and not a toy.
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Red Baron hot rod. Chromed sprues. Super Clean. Chrome dissovled away in 2 minutes flat.
Also, since it’s a degreaser, you can use it around the home for cleaning purposes-grease build-up on dishes, cleaning the oven, grease and oil stains on laundry, or in the garage. It even unclogs drains.
Hi Baron;
Now here’s a quirk. On the kit you mentioned. Most Monogram brand ( NOT AFTER THE TAKEOVER) Kits could have the chrome removed by vigourisly rubbing it with a greasy rag made of denim!
I wonder if the grease helped dissolve the chrome? I would expect the denim to remove a little bit of plastic, too, like emery paper.
Getting ready to build a 2010 Mustang build and soaked the wheels in Simple Green overnight and the wheels were dechromed completly with no caustic fumes or damage to the plastic. I dont mind the wait and i would rather wait then introduce another caustic chemical into my workshop. And i can use it as a houshold cleaner to boot. Its cheap, smells good, easy to use and safe. I dont mind waiting the 24 hours for those benefits. I have also used Simple green to strip models of the paint and it works great for that as well. To each their own.
JimD,
Is there a build you’re working on that has unwanted chrome?
I’m curious as to which method you choose and your results. I’ve been less than successful in this area.
T e d