Great input, Randy. I was not sure how to get the chrome off without restorting to something like blasting. I use blasting selectively because then you have to polish again. So I was happy with brushing off the loose plating and then replating with zinc.
My thought regarding the deep pits is if I ever get around to doing a full resto on the bike, complete with quality rechroming, I would either have the plater brass or copper plate until the pits were filled or I would simply braze up the pits and file, sand, etc back to original shape and then send out for plating.
I would think you can remove the chrome with an acid or acid/electrolysis process, but without any research I figure it would be nasty stuff to work with.
Wilf, my voltage is sub 1 volt based on the last time I measured it. I'll have to put a second meter on it next time I set up to plate again.
I have a hot tub test kit downstairs. After spending a year chasing chemicals and pH in my tub, I found somebody that had lots of experience and sold an enzyme based product that solved all my issues and made the hot tub practically maintenance free. So I'll dig it out and test the pH of my unused solution and my used solution and report back.
My bubbling is very slight when I plate in my old solution now. Just few tiny bubble streams coming off the parts. One actually looked like a hair suspended vertically in the bath. I ran a wire thru it to snag it and take it out and it turned out to be a string of miniscule bubbles.
regards,
Rob
For the home plating specialistI was of the same opinion. Opaque bath from massive bubbles was good. But I noticed that with the current off, the bubbles continued at about the same rate. That clued me in that it was just the acid eating up the zinc. Yesterday's relatively bubble-free bath that yielded excellent results was the final confirmation. regards, Rob
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