Chrome Wear

[JonGreve]

Greetings,

I have been handed a bottle of Copper Sulfate and instructed to mix it with water and to brush it on chromed parts to determine wear.

I realize that it would be a chemical reaction of some sort, and probably quite obvious to detect, but that is all the direction I was given.

Can someone fill in the blanks?
-solution quantities, procedures, what to expect, etc...
am a bit ignorant here

Thanks,
-Jon

[DwightDixon]

Copper sulfate (when properly acidified) will plate out copper on clean steel or iron. Clean the oil or other contaments off with solvent or other before you do the test. It will not plate out on chrome. Therefore, it is easy to visualize where the chrome has worn off.

[Al Hall]

They should have told you to check for "wear out". It won't tell you if the chrome is worn, just if it's gone or not. Dwight is right on with his comments.

[Skip]

Jon,

Chrome wear is usually caused by two main problems----HCl attack from a PVC burn-up, and long term abrasion from fillers/TiO2 in the compound.
Minimizing burn-ups is of course a given, with adequate stabilization/lubrication---and being alert to power failures and defective heaters/controllers.
Abrasion from fillers can be reduced by using a finer (0.7-1.0 micron) calcium carbonate--preferably stearate coated, and minimal (1.0phr) TiO2 which is about 4 times harder than the carbonates on th Moh's scale.
25 phr is normal for sewer pipes.

[JonGreve]

What would be the correct mixing solution.

Just enough water to dissolve the crystals, or is more needed?

Thanks all for the input.

-Jon