A substitution for muratic acid

[KingpinSVT]

So, I was about to give the old muratic oval dip a go to remove all the chrome. I remembered an old thread on the ubb forums (dont know who started it, Pete maybe?) about peeling off the chrome by hand. IIRC, the poster was trying to sand it off with a dremel, and gouged up the plastic in doing so, but noticed the chrome would peel off when he pulled on it.

I figured I would give this a go, minus the dremel. I took a straight edge razor and made a small chip in the chrome with the corner in order to get under it. I was then, very carefully, able to "shave" off the chrome. Most of the time in very small chips, but I was able to get large peels off. The razor blade slides easily between the chrome and plastic at the right angle. And once you get it started, you can sometimes keep sliding the razor and remove a large portion. Also, sometimes you can grab the edge and just peel the chrome off by hand.

The rounded edges and the sharp inside curves at each end posed some trouble, but I was able to either gently use the razor to remove the chrome as best I could or sand off the chrome there by using the dremel with VERY LIGHT pressure, and going slow as to not leave scrapes in the plastic. The dremel still left rough spots (so only use it when you must), but I was able to go back and sand them out. I used the dremel to clean only the tightest spots on the inside sharp curves as mentioned earlier, maybe 1/2" total on each side.

Im sure I left a few small cuts in the plastic, but tomorrow I will be going over the oval and filling all these small imperfections in with bondo. My oval is now completely chromeless, and it only took me about 2 hours. A large improvement over the sometimes 2 week wait with acid, or crappy results with sanding.

[B.Brattina]

Perfect!- Because I am far to lazy to wait without a grill driving around campus without a grill having my car look like S.hit -- I think I will try this on the weekend since my screw holes (on the inside under the hood) broke off and I need a new grill anyways-- Watching football, playing beer pong and drinking further seems no better time--

[KingpinSVT]

I dont know if I would drink too much at the same time, lol. 1. Need a steady hand so you dont cut into the plastic and 2. I got enough cuts without being drunk. Damn blades are so sharp I wouldnt even realize I was digging into my fingers until I noticed blood on the oval, oops!

[IRingTwyce]

I peeled mine too. I would recommend you wear gloves though. My fingers were RAW by the time I was finished.

[RawBurt]

I also used this method about a year ago. It is by all means NOT fun.

[B.Brattina]

Damn-- haha, I still need to inspiration to do it, this isn't helping haha--

[IRingTwyce]

Damn-- haha, I still need to inspiration to do it, this isn't helping haha--

I just did it while sitting on the living room floor watching TV. It doesn't take that much concentration, so it's an easy way to do two things at once.

[KingpinSVT]

Well its by no means fun but it sure beats waiting all that time for the acid to work!

[B.Brattina]

Agreed- I'm going to try the beer method haha, so we'll see if I can still type with my '10' fully functioning fingers afterwards-- I need a new grill anyways, my screw holes have decayed and broken off so it barely stays in anyways... Good thing to test on!

[SVTJON87]

would heating the chrome with a hair dryer help get it off faster. i just picked up some mesh and im lookng to do this soon