dechroming by electrolysis

[smithy318i]

I have been reading up on dechroming your grille. and have been told to buy this paint and that primer, and you need to sand it for donkeys,
and the paint doesn't stick and flakes off.

So... Guess what im doing!

dechroming by electrolysis.

I may as well put some of that stuff I learned from school to good use.

What you need:
Car battery
wires
a bucket or ice cream tub
hot water (boiling)
salt (2-3 desert spoons)
Grille
any old hunk of metal.
Rubber gloves (Because it makes your hands smell)

Process:
Disolve the salt in the bucket of hot water
connect one wire to the grille and the other to the hunk of metal
submerge both in the water.
(important bit) connect the grille to the positive of the battery and the hunk of metal to the negative.


Wait.......................A long time.................. Chrome disolves

[wayneE30]

does it realy work if it does im doing this tomorrow

[Widge]

BUT................................. I thought was plasticy chrome look stuff

Doesn't that leave you with a white plastic grille?

I think you need a bigger battery to speed things up, how about the mains

[smithy318i]

BUT................................. I thought was plasticy chrome look stuff

Doesn't that leave you with a white plastic grille?

I think you need a bigger battery to speed things up, how about the mains

its plastic covered in chrome.
yes.
24V is quite enough thanks (2 batteries)

Edit: BTW the water turns into a nasty smelly green soup. so do it outdoors.

[bigdek]

dont see this working if the grill is plastic cos it wont be real chrome

prove me wrong though as you are maybe on to something

[smithy318i]

It's deffo metal mate. and its deffo disolving. (see the pics)

[bigdek]

you must be a bit of a mad sceintist

[smithy318i]

Okay, this is the same corner after about one hour after taking the pics above.
And as you can see, the chrome is clearly gone. (or going)

[wayneE30]

sorry i have to ask how else can you dechrome

[smithy318i]

sand paper. etch primer. black paint.

[smithy318i]

And this is the reason why you should do it outside.

[wayneE30]

whats this mate??


etch primer

[Adam318i]

And this is the reason why you should do it outside.

That looks like the morning after a hard night of beer and curry

[wayneE30]

that really looks like curry sauce you get from the chippy

[smithy318i]

Hmmm Yum

[Zayyan]

The whole idea in ingenius

[6potWil6pot]

That looks almost as bad as the slurry the old guy fished out of the yard at work the other day

[Toby_Unna]

have to say, that a very good idea

would take bloody ages to get the surface that flat with sandpaper and you'd never get into all the nooks and crannies so well

[smithy318i]

Also good if you need a suply of hydrogen gas!

Edit: Okay I went to sleep and around 6 hours later this is the result.
So set it away before you go to bed, and by the morning you will have...




It has to be easier than spending hours sanding im sure.

[smithy318i]

I even sent an email to Adam about making a Technical Article for the site.

[Martinaston]

What happens if you stick it back in and reverse the current ?

If it works do your wheels

[smithy318i]

If you connect the terminals the wrong way at the start, the wrong electrode will disolve. If you reverse it after the chrome has gone nothing will happen.

The Anode ALWAYS corrodes (Positive).

[smithy318i]

the crome/copper is transfered into the solution. because your wheels are painted, it wouldn't work.

[Martinaston]

Would it work with that soup though ?

[smithy318i]

no.

[StuBeeDoo]

Duuurrrr! I thought electrolysis (sp?) was what my ex- used to get done to her bikini line.
Must've been mistaken.

Note Bo**ox, I'm getting excited now thinking about it!

[Nostrils]

The appliance of science, brilliant idea and definitely something I did learn at school but never crossed my mind....it was so long ago!!

A reverse process is used when painting cars at the factory, the bodies are 'electrified' as they go into the pool of paint for a more even finish and exceptional coverage!

Who will be busy this weekend then!

[320Touring]

The appliance of science, brilliant idea and definitely something I did learn at school but never crossed my mind....it was so long ago!!

A reverse process is used when painting cars at the factory, the bodies are 'electrified' as they go into the pool of paint for a more even finish and exceptional coverage!

Who will be busy this weekend then!

i remember this from high school- the paint is given a -ve charge and a +ve charge is applied to the panel to be painted. (works either way i think?!)

this causes an attraction of the paint to panel, allowing for more consice spraying, using less paint and at a lower pressure. this means the paint is less likely to run as well

[E30Adam]

Smithy, email received mate.

I'll see about putting it into a tech article.

Thanks for the writeup, this is just the sort of content we need here on the zone.

[320Touring]

Smithy, email received mate.

I'll see about putting it into a tech article.

Thanks for the writeup, this is just the sort of content we need here on the zone.

sorry to go OT Adam-just wondering if my service guides had been added yet?

must say smithy's idea is top drawer

[Sjoerd320i]

does the size of the metal plate you use matter?

[smithy318i]

Yes, I think so. The more surface area the better.

[E30Adam]

Smithy, email received mate.

I'll see about putting it into a tech article.

Thanks for the writeup, this is just the sort of content we need here on the zone.

sorry to go OT Adam-just wondering if my service guides had been added yet?

must say smithy's idea is top drawer

Did you send it to me??

I've been so busy I haven't even had a chance to look at most stuff yet.

Please email again to adam [at] patchton.freeserve.co.uk

[320Touring]

Did you send it to me??

I've been so busy I haven't even had a chance to look at most stuff yet.

Please email again to adam [at] patchton.freeserve.co.uk

alrighty adam, YHM

thanks mate

ps if you dont get it ok, i can send it from another account!

[smithy318i]

Well after a while on the shelf, i finally painted it.



And yes im going to paint the sides as well.