Old tools, peeling chrome, how to strip?

[Elsinore13]

A few years back I was given a fairly complete set of 3/4 drive Proto sockets. All I had to do was dig them up out of the dirt... Pretty rough, even after running them through Evaporust and getting all the rust off of them now they have the remaining chrome flaking. Anyone have any home remedies for removing chrome? Would just prefer to have them stripped clean and oiled.

 

[Dave455]

I haven't got any home remedies, but I would probably be tempted to take them to a local plater and let them do it. I have quite a lot of stuff re chromed, and they are used to stripping off the old chrome before they start.

I have never had something just stripped, but that sounds a sensible way to proceed. Most of the cost of re chroming is the handwork involved in prepping for the new chrome, so just having the old chrome stripped should be inexpensive.

It's interesting, in that we all buy tools that are chrome plated for durability, but amongst my really old tools, the unchromed ones seem to have lasted better. Steel quality seems to play more of a part in rust resistance than surface finish.

I have British made Britool wrenches from the 50's that belonged to my Dad, and U.S. made wrenches from the 30's and 40's by makers such as Billings, Armstrong and Blue Point that belonged to my Grandfather. None of these tools were chromed, but were in regular use up till the late 80's, show very little wear, and none of them rust!

I also have a number of adjustable wtenches, also dating from the 50's, by the British maker Garrington. The unplated ones definitely last better than the chrome versions. The chrome picks up chips (not surprising ovef 60 years) and if the jaws get dinked you can't just stone out the damage!

 

[Mechanical Noise]

Some chromium compounds are toxic and/or carcinogenic. Plating shops know what they're doing. I'd let one of them deal with it.

 

[BarryWells]

Chrome shop to strip. Gunsmith to glass bead or wire wheel and blue or parkerize

 

[Jazz1]

I wire wheeled some sockets that were severely weathered and chrome peeling. Still useable and I'm not getting chrome slivers in my hands anymore. Cant imagine replating sockets,,too costly

 

[xin]

Some chromium compounds are toxic and/or carcinogenic. Plating shops know what they're doing. I'd let one of them deal with it.

Ok, so is the chemicals sprayed on food crops and the people who spray 'round-up' on weeds daily/weekly.

This is the hysteria today, it is a label on everything from A-Z one eats more of 'chemicals' man-made in fast food than a set of chrome on sockets.

 

[topcok88]

Ok, so is the chemicals sprayed on food crops and the people who spray 'round-up' on weeds daily/weekly.



This is the hysteria today, it is a label on everything from A-Z one eats more of 'chemicals' man-made in fast food than a set of chrome on sockets.

Yea - hexavalent chromium... plenty of documentation that can provide all the negatives. In fact a movie was made about it (Erin Brockovich). The same reason only an idiot would use stainless steel for electrolysis - hex-chrome. The same reason why prolonged exposure to welding stainless with out fresh air respirators or fume extraction hoods - chromium. I get it - everything in moderation. But the dangers of hex-chrome are real and it takes a very small amount to cause great damage to the environment.


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[Fedwrench]

I wouldn't strip the sockets. I would get some 1500 2500 grit wet dry sand paper and feather edge the bad spots to prevent sharp areas, oil them up a bit and use them but, that's me.

 

[Mechanical Noise]

Ok, so is the chemicals sprayed on food crops and the people who spray 'round-up' on weeds daily/weekly.

This is the hysteria today, it is a label on everything from A-Z one eats more of 'chemicals' man-made in fast food than a set of chrome on sockets.

Different chemicals are -- different. The stuff they spray on crops does not contain heavy metals and eventually breaks down in the environment. I eat fruit and I usually don't bother rinsing. Maybe that's risky, but I'll take the chance.

Hex chrome compounds are persistent, poisonous and carcinogenic. I don't want to deal with them. I don't want hex chrome in the soil and I don't want it in the water.

I used to work at a plating shop. We didn't do chrome but we did have plenty of chemicals around which ranged to the hazardous to the quickly deadly. We were aware of the hazards, worked safely and didn't have a single incident in the seven and a half years I was there.

There's alot of EPA regulation regarding the hazardous waste generated by plating/stripping operations. And they all make sense to me.

 

[Mechanical Noise]

I wouldn't strip the sockets. I would get some 1500 2500 grit wet dry sand paper and feather edge the bad spots to prevent sharp areas, oil them up a bit and use them but, that's me.

That's a good choice! I've had good luck with Rust-o-leum etching primer sticking to chrome. If I recall, the etching primer has to be topcoated within something like 24 hours or the topcoat might not stick well.

 

[ZRX61]

I'd just glass-bead blast them.

 

[unslow1]

I wire wheeled mine and then spray painted over what was left.

 

[Elsinore13]

These are pretty rough, some better than others. I do have a blast cabinet and that may be the next stop for these in an attempt to get the flaming chrome off. No platers with 100 miles to strip these.

 

[scubadoober]

I wouldn't strip the sockets. I would get some 1500 2500 grit wet dry sand paper and feather edge the bad spots to prevent sharp areas, oil them up a bit and use them but, that's me.

This plus plug-n-plate, and you should be good.

 

[2oolhound]

I wouldn't strip the sockets. I would get some 1500 2500 grit wet dry sand paper and feather edge the bad spots to prevent sharp areas, oil them up a bit and use them but, that's me.

This is what I do too.

Here's a post on page 778 post #15542 of how I removed peeling chrome and just buffed then oiled the polished bare steel, 4 years later no rust!

A word of caution: I tried to create a type of joke by letting on Hazet had released a new line of fully polished wrenches in the 1st part of the thread but then went on to explain what was really happening and why the wrenches looked like they were full polish.

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=3106648

 

[dledinger]

I’m in the camp that would knock the sharp edge off and use them as is.