[fly]

RedRiver,

One thing you want to remember is not to leave the alum. part in the nitric for a long period of time, you want to keep a eye on the part so that the nitric does not eat into the alum. cause it will over time..it takes a while but it will eat at the alum.
The grey color is a etching affect.
The chrome plate is very thin so it will not flake off, its the nickle that flakes off. Strip half the part at a time to see what it looks like when the chrome is removed to get a better idea of how long it takes to strip the chrome, it only takes a few seconds.
The nickle thats under the chrome will have to be activated after stripping if you want to plate over the old nickle, just dip in pickle #3 for 30 sec. and rinse and then plate over the nickle.