Hi Lee,
Ha,?.well I?ve never tried to age any of these parts, so maybe I should have been a bit more guarded and said something like ?if it helps, maybe I could suggest something safer than HCl & maybe likely to have more effect, in theory at least?, :lol: LoL!
Well one thing I wanted to do was find out if Muric acid was something new that I hadn?t heard of, or whether it is in fact just HCl ? OK, so it?s HCl. Supernout once posted a comment about using HCl (back in Oct. 2002, I think) so he can probably tell us from practical experience what effect it has, but as I say;- in theory it should have little or no effect at all
.
On most metals the age tarnishing is due to oxidation, however, Nickel is famous for doing the exact opposite of what you want, ie it?s highly resistant to oxidation etc. (ditto Chromium). But in any case, HCl is NOT an oxidizing agent. It may have a very small effect simply due to chemical cleaning of the Nickel surface.
Of course most of the strong oxidizing agent?s I could suggest, would be either unavailable outside a Lab, or even more lethal than concentrated HCl (eg - Chromic acid, Nitric Acid or Sulphuric Acid) :roll: :roll: ?
DO NOT TRY ANY OF THOSE!!!
However, you could try moderately strong and less dangerous oxidizing agents such as Potassium Permanganate (K2MnO4) or Hydrogen Peroxide (H2O2), either of which can probably be bought at any Chemists shop ? take care with the Peroxide because it ?burns? like an acid. Otherwise, ordinary household bleach also contains a mild oxidizing agent (ie Sodium Hypochlorite, ie NaOCl). Have you tried ordinary cleaning products such as Brillo Clearway, Goddards ?Silver Dip?, or ?Quickshine? brass cleaner (Waitrose, or other supermarkets)?
If you want to risk it, you could send me the pup covers &/or other bits, & I?ll have a more aggressive go at it for you. But be prepared for either (a) little or no effect, or (b) a much bigger effect than you wanted :lol: LoL!
DISCLAIMER ? nobody here should even think of trying any of the above unless they?re experienced in handling potentially dangerous chemicals.
Ian.