New product for stripping chrome

[MoFo]

Saw this on another forum, thought some ARCers might be interested:

At the Shizuoka Hobby Show yesterday, I saw a new product that Hasegawa are going to come out with this July. Called TT109 Mekki Hagashi (literally "Chrome-Plate Stripper"), it will come in 500 mL bottles and cost about 2,000 yen. It takes both the chrome and that tough "primer" undercoat on chromed parts off, with an overnight soak. Apparently, the underlying primer layer just bubbles up and lifts away with a toothpick. Seems this will alleviate the need to soak parts in brake fluid or caustic oven cleaners, for those who want to clean all the way down to the plastic.

There doesn't seem to be an English name for TT109 yet, and if paint is difficult to import, this may be impossible get outside Japan for awhile... I took a good long squint at the small-print label while at the Hobby Show, and the Ingredients section only said "mild detergent" -- no secret recipes given away there. The stuff just had a very very mild chemical smell.

And here's a description of TT109 (in Japanese) at Hasegawa's website.

http://www.hasegawa-model.co.jp/tool_blog/?p=5388

The text basically says:

Until now we've used household bleach to remove chrome, then scrubbed and scrubbed with nicotine-stain removing toothpaste... This product doesn't "strip" chrome, it lifts and removes it.

Just put Mekki Hagashi in a glass container, and add your parts.

Leave your parts soaking for 3 to 24, or up to 72 hours.

It lifts off the underlying primer layer completely, which can then be washed away with water.

Can be used with styrene, polyethylene, polypropylene, polycarbonate

This product was developed when it was realized that the 1,2-Dichloropropane used as a cleaner in the printing industry was reported in the news as possibly being carcinogenic, and a cause of bile duct cancer. It is now used by major electronic, film, camera, engineering, and stationary manufacturers to remove ink at the production stage.

Edited May 16, 2016 by MoFo

[okthree]

Bleche White works great to strip chrome off plastic. About $15 for a half gallon. Readily available at most auto supply stores or Walmart. You can use it to clean white walls/lettering on your car tires too.

[markiii]

I use gel type toilet bowl cleaner with bleach..works fantastically

[viper730]

or you can use any generic windex type cleaner you get for a buck at dollar general type stores ....I have used it to strip many chrome plated Tamiya kits I got on the cheap b/c they were chrome plated...but still nice to know thanks ....

Edited May 16, 2016 by viper730

[dnl42]

Do any of the above also deal with the clearcoat below the chrome? I forget what I used in the past, but it involved two steps: chrome 1st and then clearcoat.

[MoFo]

Yes, there are a number of products one can use to strip chrome. The point is, this is a (supposedly) easy way to strip both the chrome AND primer, without using noxious chemicals.

[Phantom726]

Ordinary Coca Cola or Zero will do the trick as well. Completely removed the chrome from a Tamiya F-84G in a few days.

Imagine what it does to your teeth!!

[Jinxter13]

add to that list Super Clean (da purple stuff) it does it in a matter of minutes.

[skyhawk174]

Hi Mike

Thanks for the post. I have used bleach for quite some time to strip the chrome but never knew about the underlying primer. The plastic parts always felt ok after I washed off the bleach. Now I have to look a little closer.

I have a Tamiya F-84 in Thunderbird boxing that is chrome and I want to strip it. I will try my bleach thing on a few parts and have a close look on the resulting platic.

[dnl42]

That underlying clear coat is quite thick. Can hide a surprising amount of detail.