# De- Chromejob



## NOTSHARP (May 2, 2018)

Sorry, couldn't resist. :biggrin:

A work in progress on my Komandirskie.

Off with the chrome plating.







Plan "A" is this dial/hand combo:



Both are for a Seiko. The dial will be fitted with pads, and I will attempt to re-size the Hour hand. Minute hand is the correct size. There is no way my old eyes will let me re-size the Seconds hand, so I will fit a replacement Vostok jobby. If my re-sizing skills are as I suspect, the look my be a little different. 

Progress reports ( good, bad, or indifferent, will follow. :biggrin:

Steve


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## WRENCH (Jun 20, 2016)

NOTSHARP said:


> Progress﻿﻿ rep﻿o﻿rt﻿﻿﻿﻿


 Looks very interesting. How did you remove the chrome ?


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## NOTSHARP (May 2, 2018)

WRENCH said:


> Looks very interesting. How did you remove the chrome ?


 A wee bath in hydrochloric acid for about half an hour.

Steve.


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## WRENCH (Jun 20, 2016)

NOTSHARP said:


> A wee bath in hydrochloric acid for about half an hour.
> 
> Steve.


 I thought it would be chemical. A bit quicker, and better than hours with scorchbrite. Thanks :thumbsup:


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## NOTSHARP (May 2, 2018)

WRENCH said:


> I thought it would be chemical. A bit quicker, and better than hours with scorchbrite. Thanks :thumbsup:


 Should you decide to try it, I would suggest that the crystal is removed before the acid bath, as it can be weakened/damaged.

Ask me how I know that! 

Steve.


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## rubbatiti (May 5, 2018)

That's going to look so good! I've an old 'Komandirskie' with a flaky corroded dial (actually the first Soviet watch I bought!) and you're giving me ideas now!


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## NOTSHARP (May 2, 2018)

I spent an hour or two this morning, trying various hand sets. All were loose fitted.

Seiko Aviator.



Seiko Aviator with Red Seconds.



Seiko Plongeur.



Favinov Paddle.



The Favinov set are standard Vostok fitment. Any of the others will have to be swaged down ( hour hand ) to fit.

I do have a gold paddle set on the way from favinov.

Initial thoughts are that the Aviator minutes is too long, although I do like the colour combination with the case. The Favinov paddles look good in low light.



All good fun, I must say.

Steve.


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## Jason89 (Mar 8, 2018)

NOTSHARP said:


> A wee bath in hydrochloric acid for about half an hour.
> 
> Steve.


 I tried to remove the chrome on a bezel not so long back unsuccessfully. Bezel was stock from meranom but left me thinking it wasn't chrome plated. Because I made such a mess of it I ended up buying a new bezel off eBay. I opted for the scotchbrite method then moved onto using a dremel, all that happened was I managed to file away half the bezel :laughing2dw:

Im considering having another go, do you think acetone would work or would it need to be hydrochloric acid?

This is the watch that I'm hoping I can mod by stripping the bezel of chrome


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## WRENCH (Jun 20, 2016)

Seconds hand off the "Plongeur" on top of the paddle hands, finished off with "vintage" lume to match the dial, would be my combo. :yes:

They all look good. :thumbsup:


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## NOTSHARP (May 2, 2018)

Jason89 said:


> I tried to remove the chrome on a bezel not so long back unsuccessfully. Bezel was stock from meranom but left me thinking it wasn't chrome plated. Because I made such a mess of it I ended up buying a new bezel off eBay. I opted for the scotchbrite method then moved onto using a dremel, all that happened was I managed to file away half the bezel :laughing2dw:
> 
> Im considering having another go, do you think acetone would work or would it need to be hydrochloric acid?
> 
> This is the watch that I'm hoping I can mod by stripping the bezel of chrome


 I doubt acetone would do much - other than remove the paint, which you probably want to keep, unless you intend to re-paint the numerals.

Are you sure that the bezel is chromed brass? I seem to recall reading that the new Amphibia bezels were stainless. Just looked, and Meranom shows several stainless bezels.

Steve.


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## vinn (Jun 14, 2015)

good show! the concentration of the acid is important, but, battery fluid might be right, ill try it. vin


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## NOTSHARP (May 2, 2018)

WRENCH said:


> Seconds hand off the "Plongeur" on top of the paddle hands, finished off with "vintage" lume to match the dial, would be my combo. :yes:
> 
> They all look good. :thumbsup:


 Do you know of a supplier of "vintage" colour lume?

The colour on the dial is described as yellow, and I have found some for sale, sold as such. It mat be a trial and error job to get a decent match.

Steve.


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## WRENCH (Jun 20, 2016)

NOTSHARP said:


> Do﻿﻿ you k﻿now of ﻿a supplier ﻿of "vint﻿age" co﻿lour lu﻿me? ﻿﻿


 PM sent. Some suppliers on ebay, but getting a perfect match to the dial may be tricky.


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## mrzee (Jun 22, 2012)

I always take my hat of to anyone who has a go at watch modding. Personally, I love to but I'm just to damn scared. Looking good!


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## WRENCH (Jun 20, 2016)

mrzee said:


> I always take my hat of to anyone who has a go at watch modding. Personally, I love to but I'm just to damn scared. Looking good!


 Buy a cheap used manual wind vostok of eBay and go for it. Cheaper than a few pints, or a decent bottle of wine, and endless hours of fun looking for the bits that have pinged off and got lodged in the carpet. :thumbsup:


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## Jason89 (Mar 8, 2018)

NOTSHARP said:


> I doubt acetone would do much - other than remove the paint, which you probably want to keep, unless you intend to re-paint the numerals.
> 
> Are you sure that the bezel is chromed brass? I seem to recall reading that the new Amphibia bezels were stainless. Just looked, and Meranom shows several stainless bezels.
> 
> Steve.


 I think you are correct, unfortunately it took me destroying a bezel to realise :laughing2dw: . I will have to purchased a chrome plated bezel to achieve the desired effect.


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## Always"watching" (Sep 21, 2013)

Acetone certainly would not remove chrome plating or any other metal finish or tarnish. It's main use on metal items would be to remove the cellulose lacquer that is sometimes applied to decorative or other items to prevent tarnishing. As a collector of old brass and copper over the years, I have had to remove the remaining lacquer on pieces quite often as it can ultimately cause more problems than it solves. Acetic acid is probably too weak to shift any decent thickness of chrome plating, and although I don't think it would work either in any reasonable time scale, cheap coke/cola (or even the "real thing" if you can afford it) is very useful as a tarnish remover. Just leave any copper or brass article in undiluted cola and let the fizzy do its magic, but don't use it on anything particularly valuable, appropriately patinated, or with fine relief detailing.


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## jsud2002 (Nov 7, 2015)

NOTSHARP said:


> A wee bath in hydrochloric acid for about half an hour.
> 
> Steve.


 I am thinking of having a try at this myself could I ask can you remember if you watered down the hydrochloric acid if so what type of ratio did you go for ? Cheers John


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## WRENCH (Jun 20, 2016)

jsud2002 said:


> I am thinking of having a try at this myself could I ask can you remember if you watered down the hydrochloric acid if so what type of ratio did you go for ? Cheers John


 I found this;

"Use hydrochloric acid (muriatic acid). Hydrochloric, or muriatic, acid, is a strong, corrosive acid. In high concentrations, it can be used to remove chrome plating from metal objects. For removing chrome, an acid solution of about 30-40% concentration should suffice. Proceed as below:

Mix 1/3 part hydrochloric acid to 1 part water in a vat used for chemical mixtures (like a heavy-duty plastic bucket, etc.) to produce a 30% acid solution. Alternatively, purchase a pre-mixed acid solution of sufficient concentration.

Submerge the chrome-plated object in the solution until chrome strips off.

Wash the object thoroughly in soap and water, and rinse before drying."

Do it somewhere safe with the utmost care. A friend recently decided to do something similar in their kitchen and spilled the solution, destroying a section of their newly laid flooring. Ouch !


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## jsud2002 (Nov 7, 2015)

@WRENCH thank you for the info , definitely something I plan on trying in the future . I seem to be going through a Vostok phase at present I currently own 3 but plan on adding more to my collection.


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