How do you remove chrome from brass? - Page 3

Beginner and pro baristas share tips and tricks for making espresso.
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Psyd (original poster)
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#21: Post by Psyd (original poster) »

mgwolf wrote:Boil it in citric acid 1 Tb/liter for a while. 45 min will probably do it. Brass comes out nice. I just did this to a chromed part recently by accident and it is now 2/3 brass showing.
Did the Chrome flake off, or did it dissolve? Yahsee, this is the sort of simple solution (without removing too much brass, and not involving buying a buncha expensive toys, or [shudder] a lot of manual labor!) that I was hoping for! I'm gonna try that. I'm getting my citric acid powder from a soap-making supplies store, at about two bucks a pound, or five pounds for something like six and a half bucks. So far, a pound is lasting me more than a year, so two bucks is fantastic. I'm boiling PF's tomorrow!
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mgwolf
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#22: Post by mgwolf »

CRCasey wrote:Ok, that one lost me, Why would citric acid crystals be in Indian grocery stores?

I am just being curious.

-Cecil
They use if in their cooking, I guess. It's used in many candies, for example, in the States --Sweet Tarts comes to mind. Not sure what they use if for in India, but I saw some the other day in my local Indian grocery store. Michael

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#23: Post by mgwolf »

Psyd wrote:Did the Chrome flake off, or did it dissolve?
Chris,
It dissolved off very nicely (unfortunately in my case). I polished it a little to see if the chrome was covered up or dissolved off. It was dissolved off and the remaining brass underneath polished up beautifully. Good luck with you PF. Michael

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HB
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#24: Post by HB »

CRCasey wrote:Ok, that one lost me, Why would citric acid crystals be in Indian grocery stores?
Think "sour salt" instead of citric acid. I know very little of Indian culinary food preparation, but a cursory search revealed that it's a common ingredient for sweet & sour recipes.
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phillip canuck
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#25: Post by phillip canuck »

If you want to have an idea of what they will look like, as I was polishing my new Rancilio Z9, I was surprised to find brass under a layer of grime - I like them. Now, much more work to do..

Rancilio Z9 Two Group Lever Machine

-phillip

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Psyd (original poster)
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#26: Post by Psyd (original poster) »

phillip canuck wrote:If you want to have an idea of what they will look like
Rancilio Z9 Two Group Lever Machine
:?: :| :?:

I don't see anything that looks like it used to be chromed and is now brass 'cept maybe the steamwands? Is that what you were referring to?
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phillip canuck
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#27: Post by phillip canuck »

Psyd,
Yep, sorry about that - I see, now, you were referring to the PFs. However, the chrome is wearing off those as well - and I like that too.

-phillip

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Psyd (original poster)
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#28: Post by Psyd (original poster) »

phillip canuck wrote:Psyd,
Yep, sorry about that - I see, now, you were referring to the PFs.
Hah! S'okay, I was just making sure that it wasn't me! ; >
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howard seth
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#29: Post by howard seth »

The standard recommended concentration of citric acid in water descaling solution took the thin chrome plating off the inside of my Elektra Semiautomatica water tank - the first time I used the descaler.

Howard
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Psyd (original poster)
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#30: Post by Psyd (original poster) »

howard seth wrote:The standard recommended concentration of citric acid in water descaling solution took the thin chrome plating off the inside of my Elektra Semiautomatica water tank - the first time I used the descaler.
'Kay, my PF's are soaking in it. I put a level large spoon (it's a table spoon, but I'm not sure it's a TBSP, if you know what I mean) into a twenty ounce SS frothing pitcher, and set all of that into a 1 qt sauce pan to boil. I only have one LARGE sauce pan that doesn't have a teflon, or other coating, and I wasn't going to use any of the aluminium stuff I have fro other 'experimental' uses.
I'll let y'all know how it turned out.

Any idea how long I should let it boil? It's almost 3 PM here now...
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