De-Nickel Plating

[PlatingTreasures]

I am Having trouble finding out how to get old Nickel Plating off of an Old Oil Can? The bass metal is Brass underneath which I am trying to get to. Brass is a much more desirable look than Nickel. Some of the Nickel Plating has come off over the years. I have asked some local plating companies near me, but they are unwilling to help me. If you can please let me know what I can do, I very much appreciate it.

Thank you,
PlatingTreasures

[mcaswell]

You can reverse plate nickel using an acid pickle bath, made of 3 parts distilled water to one part battery acid. Always add acid to water to avoid splashing concentrated acid.

Use a GP Plate (lead sheet) as the cathode (negatively charged). The part is connected positive.

You should also be able to buff it off using an aggressive compound, or sandblast it off.

[dadkar2]

Try this link....


http://www.finishing.com/stripper/

Metal X's B9 is like a miracle formulation. It is safe to use (no cyanide) relatively non toxic, and works very well in a small heated crock pot. I bought a 5 pound box for $60 and it will probably last a lifetime at the rate I use it for small parts.

Ken

[bhhodges]

ken,

what is the mix ratio to use for this, i have a lot of old nickel plated brass i need to remove the nickel from and it sounds like it wont harm the brass underneath. what temperature do you heat it to??


bill

[dadkar2]

Bill,

I heat to 120-150F using a simple crock pot. The mix ratio is 2 1/2 oz per gallon of water. Prior to each re-use I recharge with a few tablespoons of the powdered material. The stripping process will leave a smut which can be removed with some concoctions they recommend, but I simply rub with steel wool. It works just fine. I often re-polish and nickel plate right afterwards and the results are great.

I am not aware of any harm to brass; that's my primary application--brass clock parts.

After repeated uses I pour off the liquid and discard the solid sediment at the bottom (composed of the nickel that is stripped). To discard the spent solution (which is not very frequent) I allow the water to boil away and dispose of the solid appropriately. It's not a big problem since I keep only a gallon around in a crock pot for occasional use.

I have the Word file on how to use B-9 if you are interested.

Ken

[bhhodges]

you must of got it when the getting was good, all they sell now is 60 pound containers for a bit over 200.00 they are sending me enough for a 1 gallon mix to give it a once over and try.


bill

[dadkar2]

Sorry to hear that. They were very helpful actually, perhaps 1 year ago. I communicated almost completely by email, then contacted them by telephone once to coordinate payment. They were very friendly. In fact, they sent me enough sample for almost 3 gallons to evaluate before I bought more.

I get the feeling that they discovered this formula and were having trouble getting people to change from cyanide, and couldn't give it away. They may now be having more success.

I also encouraged Mike Caswell to carry this stuff on at least 3 occasions. He doesn't seem to be pursuing it for whatever reason, perhaps because he just doesn't have time to evaluate it.


Ken

[bhhodges]

ill let you know next week i should have my sample by tuesday and ill give it a try and see if it does what i expect.


bill

[mcaswell]

Let us know how you get on with it and we'll consider stocking it.

[dadkar2]

Thanks Mike. It has my vote. It's the only thing I have tried that is effective, completely safe on delicate substrates and is easy to handle, non toxic, and I don't mind having around the house.

Ken