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]

Removing Nickel

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]

Nickel deplating

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]

Nickel Deplating

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]

Nickel Deplating

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

[bhhodges]

caswell/ken

the nickel stripper works as well or better than i expected. i mixed 1.25 pounds with a gallon of water and a quart of battery acid in a crock pot heated to 140 degrees. after a 30 minutes soak there wasnt anything left but a black smut that was easy to remove, so if you decided to stock it im sure i would buy 4-5 pounds i simply dont need a 60 pound container.

the type i got as a sample was mx-ac for brass base metals.



bill

[dadkar2]

nickel dePlating

Guys,

The stuff I bought from them is similar but requires no acid. It works the way you just described. I know there is a formulation that requires acid, intended for brass (and maybe copper) only. They have 3 or 4 different formulations. Mine is B-929.

It is a miracle chemical. Mike you have to try this stuff. Bill thanks so much for your added testimonial on it. I'll never use reverse plating with battery acid on my delicate valuable horological components again.

By the way it also works wonders on steel. The 929 is compatible with steel, which the acid formulation is not! You would not believe it. It strips the nickel right off, and leaves the copper flash intact underneath!! Reverse plating with battery acid would destroy the steel parts. I know; I"ve tried it.

Kind regards,
Ken

[bhhodges]

they also have some bath make ups for removing the smut that is left behind but i found it easy enough to remove by hand, im gonna be away from the shop for a couple weeks so wont be able to try and mix any of the de-smut baths.


bill

[dadkar2]

Bill,

I avoided the de-smut baths because they looked kind of toxic, and unnecessary.

Ken

[mcaswell]

MetalX products

These are being ordered today.


Watch the webpage later next week for details.