Sound technical content, curated with aloha by
Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Pine Beach, NJ
The authoritative public forum
for Metal Finishing since 1989
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Removing "chrome" from brass bathroom fittings
adv.
Q. We have a chrome shower head that we want to convert to the brass color underneath. We saw a video of someone stripping the chrome from a faucet with a sander. Is that something that a) is not terribly complicated, and b) would work on a shower head as well as on faucets?
Sasha Kraus- Mexico City, Mexico
September 1, 2020
A. Hi Sasha. The two issues to consider are that:
• You can only sand away what you can get to. If there are recesses you can't easily reach, it gets more complicated.
• Such procedures are partially knowledge and partially acquired skill; if you have a spare you can practice on, that would be a good thing :-)
Luck & Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
June 2021
⇩ Related postings, oldest first ⇩
Q. I have been looking for a low-flow showerhead with a "navy button" in a brass finish with no luck at all. My wife will not accept anything else. A newly added third person in the household has caused a hot water shortage. The hot water heater appears to be in proper order. I've looked in many stores and wholesale catalogs with only "chrome" finish available. A recent attempt with a drill fitted with a wire brush proved too drastic a method. It is my understanding that one part of muriatic acid ⇦ this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] poured slowly into two parts cool water will safely remove the "chrome" finish. Can anyone tell me about how long I should expect this to take, or perhaps know of another method ... also, will the acid damage the rubber fittings, and any insight into breaking the various products down completely without ruining them would be nice. Thanks.
Tom Williams- West Roxbury, Massachusetts
2003
A. The average layman wouldn't know very much about chrome plating, Tom. There's no shame in that, of course, but it can lead to half truths, urban legend, and messy procedures. (You are invited to see our Intro to Chrome Plating if interested)
While it is true that chromium (per se) can be stripped in muriatic acid, decorative "chrome plating" is not just chromium, it is actually a heavy layer of nickel plating followed by a thin flash of chromium. So if you remove the chromium plating with hydrochloric acid, your shower head will still be covered with nickel plating which you will not be able to remove except with a specialty nickel stripper.
Most chrome plating shops can easily strip both the chrome and brass plate the underlying nickel for you though, or if necessary, strip the nickel and replate it, but you can inquire about whether you can buy nickel stripper.
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
2003
Q. In reference to Tom Williams question pertaining to the removal of a chrome finish, you indicated the acid method might remove the "decorative chrome plating" and "leave the underlying nickel plating". I have a shower faucet, in place but never used, that is chrome plated and we are redoing the bath and want the "brushed nickel" look, without the mess of changing the shower mixing valve unit. The control handle and cover plate are the items in question and whether the acid technique would give a nickel look, similar to the faucets being marketed today.
Any suggestions appreciated.
- Dayton, Ohio
2006
A. Hello Lee. You will be left with a reasonably functional nickel finish, and it may meet your taste or it may not. The fancy brushed nickel and satin nickel finishes that are popular today can involve more than just leaving the chrome off, but plain nickel is attractive too. It is very slightly 'yellowish' compared to the slight 'bluishness' of chrome, and it grows yellower over time because nickel tarnishes.
Tom implied that chrome can be "safely" removed with muriatic acid -- but muriatic acid is not really a "safe" chemical, it's a hazardous chemical. Further, the fumes from hydrochloric acid will rust anything in the house they reach -- make sure they don't reach anything.
So it's probably doable but not a chip shot :-)
Good luck!
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
2006
Q. In an attempt to remove Chrome plating from a brass, antique fishing reel with undiluted, full strength Muriatic acid purchased from Wal-Mart, it has not fazed it after soaking it for over an hour.
Any suggestions?
- Brandon, Mississippi
January 2, 2016
A. Hi Roy. If it's unfazed, it's not chrome. It takes less than a minute for strong muriatic acid to dissolve chrome.
The issue probably is that what you are calling "chrome" is in fact nickel plating. You can't chemically remove nickel plating with muriatic acid, or any consumer products. A plating shop can remove the nickel plating with a cyanide-based or proprietary nickel stripper, but time is money and a plating shop probably can't charge you less for their time than your mechanic or plumber -- so you might find it prohibitive.
It is probably possible to sand or sandblast the nickel off, but whether you can do this without severely harming the brass is something to discuss with a blasting shop. Good luck.
Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
January 2016
? Simple question: Why do you want to strip the chrome (nickel) off of the reel?
Jim Treglio - scwineryreview.com
PVD Consultant & Wine Lover
San Diego, California
January 5, 2016
Remove chrome from new solid brass Chicago Faucet
November 1, 2016Q.
The finishing.com forum is a well of information -- especially for the clueless, of which alas I am one!
Can you recommend a shop in north NJ (I'm in Sussex County, but willing to travel) who could remove the chrome from a new solid brass Chicago faucet?
My end result is to have a unfinished brass faucet for a 1931 farm sink. I would make sure that the handles are also solid brass. I am assuming upkeep would be with Brasso
⇦ this on
eBay
or
Amazon [affil links] (the way we used to polish our brass plates and buttons at West Point).
a
I have emails into [names of two New Jersey shops deleted by editor]. Any other suggestions, warning flags or wisdom?
Thanks,
Tara
Restoring antique house - Sparta, New Jersey, USA
A. Hi Tara. This forum is for technical discussions and camaraderie, and we can't publicly suggest commercial sources for stuff (why?). But if you want your inquiry to be an RFQ, and your contact info released, then people can contact you privately about it.
Yes, a plating shop can strip the chrome, nickel, and copper (if present) and get you back to brass. But brass will not be shiny unless polished and buffed and then kept lacquered. A dull brass would be more easily obtained and maintained. Good luck.
Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
Q. Hi, Tara, I'm looking into doing the same thing on two Chicago Faucets I have. Did you find a place? And were they able to strip down to the brass?
Thanks
Jennifer
Home rennovator - Brooklyn, New York
January 18, 2022
Q. Thanks, Ted, for your quick reply. Understand about the recommendation policy. I'll work through the list.
On the brass maintenance, I'd prefer it non-shiny. Would I maintain it with the posted potion of flour and vinegar
⇦in bulk on
eBay
or
Amazon [affil links] ?
Restoring antique house - Sparta, New Jersey, USA
A. Vinegar and and flour will clean them, but rather aggressively, probably leaving them a little salmon colored until time restores the brassy look. Your original idea of Brasso is probably better. Good luck.
Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
Q. Brasso it is! Its smell is definitely a sense memory.
Question on the cast iron sink's porcelain: would the Brasso effect it? Presumably, I'd use a rag and not sploop.
And thanks to those contacts on the directory who quickly responded to my inquiry and gave me other leads to shops.
- Sparta New Jersey USA
November 1, 2016
A. Hi. I can't pose as an expert on the side effects on porcelain of using Brasso -- I'm just another homemaker when it comes to that. But I think it'll be just fine.
Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
Removing chrome plating to return to nickel plating
Q. I have a motorbike frame and swing arm which was originally (by OEM) bright nickel plated. A previous owner had these chromed. I intend to restore this to original finish. The tubing is Reynolds 531 tubing Manganese/Molybdenum steel, assembled by brazing. What are the chances the brazing will be damaged in the de-chroming process, which will be the best process to do this, will the underlying nickel/copper plating also have to be stripped and what are the specific issues I should raise with the plating works.
I have read the "Understanding Chrome Plating" tutorial, but it doesn't address this specific issue. Thanks in advance for the help.
Hobbyist - Johannesburg, South Africa
July 2, 2018
Hi Alan. The problem is probably not a question of technology as much as the fact that it's very difficult to guess about the integrity of old finishes on old components. A 30-second to 1-minute dip in muriatic acid followed by thorough rinsing should not affect the brazing if the nickel plating is still robustly covering it. As far as I recall, no one has ever gotten back to us with how successful they were or weren't on similar attempts to remove chrome plating while leaving a decorative nickel finish in place underneath though.
Further, you mentioned frame and swing arm, but if you have actual hydraulic shock absorbers they surely require chrome plating not nickel -- nickel does not have the low coefficient of friction, wear resistance, and oil holding ability to function as a piston in a hydraulic cylinder.
Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
Q. Hi Ted, thanks for the comment, I will discuss this with the plating works. I have had some other advice that a reverse electroplating process should (?) work okay, but I can't take the chance on it damaging the brazing. I have no problem with re-plating the nickel if it is required. My concern is all about not damaging the mechanical integrity of the brazing.
The motorbike is completely dis-assembled, so all shocks, bushes, bearings etc. are removed. I can post photos if you like.
Regards
Alan
- Johannesburg, South Africa
A. Hi again. If it's okay to re-do the nickel, I think you can rely on the plating works to decide how to best strip the chrome and the nickel, and replate. Brazed parts are routinely exposed to acids in the plating process without destroying them.
I misunderstood and thought you wanted to strip the chrome yourself but still have a decorative nickel finish; I know it can be done on new parts but am not confident whether worn old nickel plating will look good with the chrome removed.
Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
Chrome plating on faucet is disintegrating
Q. My chrome faucet is 10 years old. It was not cheap. The chrome finish is disintegrating. I have never seen that before with faucets that are 20 years old. I bought it from a high end store. I researched the manufacturer and they are in China. Wish I had known before. Is this normal and can I have the chrome finish restored?
Thank you in advance for any information you can give me.
Myrna
- Toronto, Ontario Canada
September 23, 2018
A. Hi Myrna. "Disintegrating" is a very strong word. Do you really mean that, or is the finish becoming stained and discolored? Bleach is very destructive towards chrome; are you confident you haven't changed cleaners to some chlorine based stuff that is hurting the chrome?
You can try chrome polish if it's discolored. If that doesn't work, yes, it can be replated but it's not cheap. It wouldn't surprise me if it cost about $100.
Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
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