Fire Damaged Chrome

[Hpozzuoli]

Those who have been around awhile might remember my garage fire. I tried saving as many of my good tools as possible. My sockets, and most other hand tools are ok or restored. The thing that got hurt the most was my wrench drawer.

What can you guys suggest to remove the rust and pitted chrome, or at least clean it up? I tried that wd40 rust remover. It worked ok, but I also had buckets of stuff to go thru so I am not opposed to trying again. Is there a company that will rechrome if I send them out?

I am trying to avoid rebuying just because of aesthetics. It seems like a waste of money just to make them look good. I would rather clean them.

Fire was 5 years ago. John Deere Gator went up inside garage. Saved the structure, but most everything inside was trash.

Thanks for any insight.

 

[LeonardY]

Try Evaporust. It won't fix the pitted chrome but it will remove the rust.
You could use a brass wire wheel and a buffing wheel to bring back the shine.
Another product is Quick-Glo.
I'm sure you can re-chrome them but not sure of the cost.

Sorry for all your trouble.

 

[JRC3]

That's "patina," it adds value. If you can find a little barn dust to sprinkle on you could list it on Craigslist as "vintage" and put the kids through college with the proceeds..

 

[American Locomotive]

If the chrome is just pitted, I would just try to mechanically remove the rust and call it a day. If the chrome is flaking off, you'll likely want to completely remove the chrome.

There are companies that could re-chrome, but it's probably not worth it to re-chrome them since the steel has certainly been compromised to some degree. I'm not saying they're not still usable, just that the likely won't be the same strength-wise.

Some people try to chemically remove Chrome, but the issue is that any acid or caustic that will strip the nickle/copper under the chrome will also attack the steel. I think your best best is to have them media blasted, and then periodically coating them with oil or something like fluid film. You could also looking into the "cold bluing" process.

 

[finn]

Either powdered feed molasses cut 7:1 with water or buy a bag of powdered citric acid from Amazon.

Soak the tools for a few days or longer, rinse, and oil.

You may want to run them across a wire wheel on the bench grinder as part of the process.

 

[tool_scrounge]

A while back I picked up a set of Craftsman box end wrenches with small rust pits in the finish. Soaking in diluted molasses for a few days removed all the rust. I can still see the slightest of tarnishing in spots but it is 99% better.

 

[Hpozzuoli]

Just ordered the molasses. I am excited to give it a try. Thanks for he advice. I will update this thread once I try it out.

 

[unslow1]

I used vinegar on several and then wiped them with oil. The ones that still looked bad I wire wheeled and spray painted. They looked a lot better and don't bug me now. Like you I wasn't about to replace them when they work just fine.

 

[Jswain]

If the molasses doesn't turn out as you'd like I would chemically remove the chrome and then black oxide coat them.

Caswellplating makes very cheap kits, and many other kinds other than black oxide and I believe lye will strip the chrome from steel but do your research or maybe somebody here could chime in

 

[steaks&anvils]

After you get the rust off, try the scrubbing with foil trick. It should "clean up" some of the less damaged chrome.

google this: "restoring chrome with foil"

 

[Lassen Forge]

There is the other option, expensive as it may be - send them to a chrome shop to have them redone. They'll take the cooked plating off, rebuff and replate them. Prepare to empty your wallet, tho..

 

[SeisMec]

Most of they guys I've known that were fans of chromed automotive wheels (I'm not) swore by Mother's chrome polish. Might be worth a try after the Evaporust.

 

[seber]

Actually, tools are never chrome plated. The plating is nickel. Almost always over copper flash. It is super easy to do it yourself. You just need a bit of acid, a source of nickel and a battery or charger. Low amperage is better but it depends on the total surface area. I have no doubt you can find a few dozen examples on youtube. When chromium is done, it is so thin that it is literally transparent. It lends a slight bluish hue to the nickel underneath and gives extra corrosion protection but is extremely toxic to work with.