De-plating Aluminum

[Newton]

I tried to de-plate an aluminum part in the Anodize/Chrome stripper by reversing the leads using the GP plates. It tried to short my power supply out. What am I missing?

[sswee]

Unless I missed something?? Where does a power supply enter the picture. Anodize/Chrome stripper is an acid mixture to remove the coating.

[Newton]

I thought it could be used to deplate electrically. The manual doesn't have much on it.

What solution can be used to deplate aluminum?

[sswee]

What kind of plating are you trying to remove?
If it's Chrome:
Manual v7
pg.35 Pickle #2
pg.90 I missed it. They show electrical way using Anodize/ Chrome stripper. Says for steel.

Recommended Anodize/ Chrome stripper -no power - less harsh on base material

Also says Hydrochloric acid can be used.

Your manual hardcopy or web?

[Newton]

Even with steel I think it would still try to create a direct short in the power supply. I'm still not sure what to use to remove it from aluminum. I never actually got to the chrome step. I plated the aluminum with copper and nickel and it blistered. I wanted to get back to aluminum without blasting because it takes so long. I believe what they describe in the manual is to remove chrome without removing the nickel and copper.

[sswee]

Is your tank bar or part able to come into contact with your GP-plates? What kind of tank? If you reverse polarity do you still have direct short? How much current are you using? What PS are you using? Do you have an Ohm meter that you can check for a short with?

[Newton]

My bar was only resting on the sides of the plastic tank. I have a Lambda lab power supply. As I tried to ramp up the amperage, the voltage pegged out and little or no current. I didn't try negative to part, positive to GP plates. Keep in mind I only want to remove copper and nickel from the part. This may not be the best bath for that.

[sswee]

The anodize/chrome stripper @5-6oz per gal of water is the recommended way. Heating to 160 degrees to make it more agressive. Especially with a base metal of aluminum. The Pickle#4 and the Hydrochloric methods are more harsh on aluminum. As far as the electrical problem, it doesn't sound like a short from the info in your last post. A partial or dead short is a reduction in resistance allowing the amps to shoot up and the voltage to drop. A high resistance, ie. bad connection, will drop your amps and shoot the voltage up to try to push the amps through the resistance. Do you have a multimeter to ohm out the connections? Its probably something simple or simply overlooked.