PMK,...nice to know there is at least one other Ex Fellow Plater here on Spyder Lovers and a Spyder riding Plater! Hoping we are not headed too far off Topic on this Sprocket thread, .......stripping Nickel plating off a combination of steel and bronze weld is going to be a problem for you. The Stripper that will dissolve Nickel off steel with out etching the steel will etch the bronze badly, and the Stripper that will strip Nickel from Bronze will etch the steel badly. Reverse plating the Nickel off the frame, while watching to stop when the bronze weld is first exposed, would be the safest way to proceed. Its been awhile since I have worked for Chemical Suppliers, so there might be some new proprietary Chemical stripper on the Market that will strip nickel plating from both steel and bronze with out etching either. But it will be a real challenge. If it were me, I’d first try to MASK the bronze weld areas, with a Masking Paint, then use a Nickel from steel Stripper, cold, to strip the Nickel off steel. One Lb. Per Gal. Of Sodium Cyanide, with 4 oz. per Gal. of Sodium Metanitro benzine sultanate would strip the nickel off steel with out etching it, but would attack the bronze. But needing such a large Tank of the Chemical will be more than a home garage project. I suggest contacting a few local Plating Contract Shops in your area to get help from. Good luck!!
Here is a Link to my last published Plating Article, in Metal Finishing Magazine, about 6 months before I retired, in 2010. My “ Last Hurrah” before retiring.
https://www.materialstoday.com/metal...ing-equipment/
007james


Quote Originally Posted by PMK View Post
FWIW, on the Sikorskys, the nickel is a cap over the titanium leading edge that is adhesive bonded over the blades composite structure. Removing the nickel cap is a challenge to remove.

At one previous job, besides operating and overseeing the entire NDT lab, I was also tasked with maintaining the baths for Type 1 anodize, cadmium plating, plus the strip tanks and haz mat. Never enjoyed any of that. Next job, besides structure work, I was doing brush plating, plus maintaining that.

While not at your level in regards to plating, I have a little bit of experience with it.

So, that leads me to ask, I need a method to strip nickel from steel without destruction to the bronze welding that joins the tubes of my 1971 Rickman Metisse frame. Seems no plating shops that are local have a tank adequate to handle the frames dimensions.