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I have a part made of chromium. The part was plated with nickel. How can I dissolve nickel coat from that part?

I knew that nickel could be dissolved in hydrochloric, sulfuric, and dilute nitric acid. But chromium has same properties of dissolution in the same acids. Is there a way to remove the nickel coat without harm to the chromium-made part?

Lynn Gu
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    I am afraid chemical ways would have lack of selectivity and the only way is non chemical, e.g. combination of mechanical (peeling off?) and thermal ( different dilation stress?) methods, which may or may not be applicable. Perhaps @blacksmith37 as the respected expert could have some insight here. // Generally, is not it quite unusual, chrome being plated by nickel ? As chrome is like always the top layer. – Poutnik Nov 10 '21 at 08:28
  • @Poutnik thank you for fast replay. Yes, it's unusual composition of metals. I have chrome plated with nickel. Usually is nickel plated with chrome. – BrilliantContract Nov 10 '21 at 11:25
  • It seems unlikely that a chemical method will work. Given that pure chromium is very hard and nickel is softer, maybe sandblasting would do the job. Good luck with this! – Ed V Nov 10 '21 at 17:05

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You do not have a part made of chromium. Maybe Vitalium, a chromium cobalt alloy used for dental protheses, gas turbine blades and other stuff under different names like Stellite. It would be very, very unusual for Vitalium to be nickel plated

blacksmith37
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