chrome removal

[jiw1998]

my cam cover is original cover that has been chromed. chrome is flaking off. i would like to restore it to the original condition. does anyone know how to or where to send it to have the chrome removed?

[LittleAl]

muriatic acid and a battery will do it but way easier and better to have a chromer de-chrome it.

[Kurt]

Honestly.......the part for originality is junk.

I personally have never had one part which was chromed aluminum be able to be de-chromed and not ruin the aluminum.

The acid will eat the aluminum in no time and to have a chrome shop reverse the process damages the aluminum.

[panz4ever]

Kurt what about something like bead blasting. If the right medium was selected wouldn't that work?

[FlatHeadSix]

Honestly.......the part for originality is junk.

I personally have never had one part which was chromed aluminum be able to be de-chromed and not ruin the aluminum.

The acid will eat the aluminum in no time and to have a chrome shop reverse the process damages the aluminum.

Truer words were never spoken! If you take the words "for originality" out of the first sentence it is even more true: Honestly......the part is junk, period.

The cover was most likely polished before it was chromed so it is already dimensionally compromised. The other critical factor is that the mating surfaces were almost certainly chromed as well as the outside face. Trying to clean it up will probably require milling the mating surface which will change all the tolerances inside the cam chest.

Throw it in the dumpster or hang it on the wall and find a good original cover, you won't be sorry.

mike

[Kurt]

Kurt what about something like bead blasting. If the right medium was selected wouldn't that work?

No, because the aluminum is super soft compared to the chrome and the medium used is still too course. The aluminum will just blow away.

I'm having the exact same issue with powder coating on aluminum parts. Once the powder coat is removed from a spot, that spot just keeps blasting away until nothing is left. The only thing that works half ass'd for powder coating is a big barrel full of aircraft stripper and let the part soak for a few hours to soften it.

[NightShift]

I agree with Kurt, but theres times that cheap chrome will peel right off, except the hard places where it scars it real bad and will never look the same.

Sand makes sparks!

Steel shot hammers it away good in big shiney snowflakes and messes up the cabinet bad.
Gotta shoot with shot the bare alunimum anyway.

Respectful,

NightShift

[FlatHeadSix]

What Mr. Shift says is also true, but it depends on how cheap the chrome was to begin with and the original texture of the surface. I was able to save the fork sliders on my wife's servi years ago by peeling, picking and shaving the old chrome off with a razor blade and various other tools. I finished the job with progressively finer sand paper and then polishing, good as new. But the outside of a fork slider doesn't have critical dimensions either, and its a flat smooth surface to begin with, it doesn't really matter how much you sand off.

As Kurt mentioned, the old chrome is HARD and there will always be areas where it is still stuck tight to the aluminum. Any method of dechroming, chemical or abrasive, will attack the exposed aluminum first. When the last bits of old chrome finally come off they will always leave "high spots" on the surface adjacent to the craters and pits where the exposed aluminum has been eroded away.

Please let us all know how many hours you waste trying to save that cam cover before you throw it in the junk pile and find a good one to replace it. Pictures would be very helpful.

jmho

mike

[mbskeam]

it will come off....
a small dremal type tool will clean this up
did this to my tranny cover and a cam cover....
just takes time thats all

[awander]

PS: if that cam cover works, but just looks ratty, please don't junk it. There are plenty of us who like old bikes that run, but don;t particularly care if they look 100%.

[hjans]

There are plenty of us who like old bikes that run, but don;t particularly care if they look 100%.

Make that : most of us like old bikes that run.
period !
Just polish the chrome away.
Hans

[PanPal]

For removing chrome on steel a slag media works very well in a sand blaster. The media is pretty coarse and can clog the nozzle often. I use a carbide nozzle instead of the ceramic nozzles that wear out too fast. There are other brands but here is one from Northern.

http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/ ... _200136674

I never tried it on a chrome plated aluminum part, but it will take chrome off in sheets most times.