Chrome Stripping Iron Heads

I was gifted a set of Mizuno MP32 heads that are quite battle scarred. Plenty of dings, scratches, and browning. I have nothing to lose here, so I want to attempt to strip them raw. I called a guy at a local plating shop and asked if he'd be willing to help. I've read through a lot of threads on the topic and understand that the stripping process creates a very hazardous byproduct. This shop primarily works with agricultural equipment, so he has never worked with golf clubs before. However he was confident he could do the stripping safely and can dispose of the waste properly. He was very clear with me that he has never worked with golf clubs. I told him this is pretty much just an experiment for me and I have nothing to lose. I'm not out anything if we ruin a few. He was fine with that and said he'd charge me $20 for the whole lot if it goes well.

Happy with that arrangement he started with the 7 iron. This was its default state:


I left it with him for a few days. I didn't really ask a lot of questions, but I am aware that he's using hcl acid. He called me back and said he wasn't sure it was achieving the desired effect. Seems like its eating the bare metal. I went and picked it up. Looks like this now.


Curious about what is bare metal or what is nickel plating or what is chrome plating I decided to wet it down and leave it to air dry, hoping to create rust on bare steel. Got this:


And the back:


```

**Question**

What happened to my 7 iron head?

My understanding is that the hcl acid removes the chrome. Then I would need an additional step to remove the nickel plating. Then I'd have raw steel. Looks to me like the already worn sweet spot has worn hard and the acid was eating the bare steel. Was it simply left in the acid for too long? How long should it take? What is the indication that the chrome is stripped properly?

Again, I don't fault my guy at all. I went into this fully aware that this could happen and am not out any money. This is an experiment. The stripping was performed safely and the waste disposed of properly. But I'd like him to keep going, just with some better information from me on how to apply his stripping techniques to golf clubs.

Thanks.

I had him try another head. This time it sat in the acid for much less time. I did some research and I am pretty confident that the 7 iron above shows the acid eating the steel on the sweet spot. The outer layer of chrome seems to be very thin. Like measured in microns or .001". I also read that stripping the chrome may not produce a visually apparent result that is much different than the nickel plating layer underneath. To that end compare the 9 iron on the left that sat in acid for 30 minutes to the PW on the right which has not been stripped:



A further test shows that if I leave water on the stripped 9 iron it will rust as it air dries. It also makes the areas that had browned previously appear more homogeneous to the rest of the face.


Next for stripping the nickel, does anyone have experience with the Caswell stripper:

https://www.caswellplating.com/electroplating-anodizing/metal-strippers/metalx-b-9-nickel-stripper-2-5lb.html

I pulled the trigger on the Metalx B-9 Stripper. Package came in the mail yesterday including a big bag of white powder. It comes with instructions, which I did my best to follow along. I ran a test on an old Mizuno T-Zoid head I have sitting around to practice stamping on. After the test run went well I did the whole set of heads. Here was my setup:

- Kitchen stove top

- Stainless Steel cooking pan

- I filled it with approximately 6 cups / 1500 ml / .396 gallons of water

- Directions say the mixing ratio is 1 gallon = 2.5 lbs of powder, so .396 gallons = .99 lbs

- I heated the water to about 2-3 on my dial and used a temperature gauge to measure to about 120-130 degrees fahrenheit

- I poured in the B9 powder slowly and mixed as I went along until fully integrated

- I dropped my iron head in

- I would stir the water occasionally

The head appeared to turn a dark black color pretty quickly. It did not take long. Maybe 3 minutes. I flipped it over to make sure the part of the head touching the pan had a chance to strip as well. Certain heads would discolor differently. I wonder if this is due to how the acid stripped the chrome previously. Some parts of the nickel maybe were already stripped off.


After about 5 minutes I took the heads out. I gave them a scrub with warm water and a green scotchbrite pad. This would remove the black film with some scrubbing. Looks like bare steel to me!



Glad to see you're making progress.

I personally would've just taken them to a competent auto body/chrome shop to have them stripped properly (they usually only charge about $5/head in my area if doing a full set), but they use electricity along with the acid to draw the chrome away from the item ("reverse" electroplating). What you are left with isn't the prettiest, but FULLY stripped. Then you can buff/sand/grind out any dings/bag chatter and have re-finished to your liking.

It looks to me like maybe on that last pic you actually do have most of the chrome stripped, but possibly still the nickle is on there? What is that white area near the top-line? To me it looks like the chrome is mostly gone, nickle still remains except the top-line and a few other spots?

Keep us updated on the project, and let us know how your fingers turn out after being immersed in that Metalx B-9. Stay safe my friend, and invest in a pair of rubber gloves!

Here's what mine looked like when I got them back. I'll have to call the guy and ask him what he used.

> @halliedog said:

> Glad to see you're making progress.

>

> I personally would've just taken them to a competent auto body/chrome shop to have them stripped properly (they usually only charge about $5/head in my area if doing a full set), but they use electricity along with the acid to draw the chrome away from the item ("reverse" electroplating). What you are left with isn't the prettiest, but FULLY stripped. Then you can buff/sand/grind out any dings/bag chatter and have re-finished to your liking.

>

> It looks to me like maybe on that last pic you actually do have most of the chrome stripped, but possibly still the nickle is on there? What is that white area near the top-line? To me it looks like the chrome is mostly gone, nickle still remains except the top-line and a few other spots?

>

> Keep us updated on the project, and let us know how your fingers turn out after being immersed in that Metalx B-9. Stay safe my friend, and invest in a pair of rubber gloves!

Thanks for the input! I don't have a lot of options for local chrome shops. The guy I went to was really the only one within about an hour drive. He was a very nice guy and is helping me get rid of the waste. But he was very upfront that he doesn't often work with things like golf clubs. The 7 iron pictured above was the first test result.

The other heads were just the result of using Muriatic Acid for a shorter time period - like 30 minutes. I think the heads with more wear expose raw steel and the acid tends to just eat the steel, as seen above.

The BX-9 stripper was very easy to work with. No fumes or harms to the skin. I tried to follow the instructions as best I could.

I do acknowledge that 'white area'. The 8 iron and 5 iron have it worse than the others. I'm honestly not sure what's going on. Perhaps there is still some chrome / nickel left on those areas?

9 iron looks good to me:



5 and 8 need work:



8 face you can still see the sweet spot wear. As I understand when you have this kind of browning that means that the outer layers of chrome and nickel have worn down. The raw steel is exposed and rusts (browns). If I remove all of the chrome and nickel plating there should be less distinction on the worn area. However if its really worn it is likely not going to level out unless I then remove material across the entire face so the lowest low levels out with the highest high.


I'm thinking I may run the 5 and 8 heads through it all again.

> @"Hack Daddy" said:

>

> Here's what mine looked like when I got them back. I'll have to call the guy and ask him what he used.

>

Very helpful, thank you! Yours look very dull. Almost no gloss or sheen. Whereas mine do seem to have a bit of that left yet. Safe to believe I'm not _fully_ stripping these down to raw steel?

When I got my 2004 TM Rac Combos stripped, they came back from the plating shop looking horrible. Dull, blotchy, etc... One thing, they had no "shiny" spots left on them like yours, so I'm not sure your guy fully stripped everything? Another thing to consider, you will lose significant weight if you are stripping chrome and nickle, and will need to make that up on your re-build, unless you are having the same things redone after you get them to your liking (nickle and chrome plating).

I wish I still had pictures of my heads after they came back from being stripped, but don't . They looked terrible! I did some sanding/grinding to remove most of the bag chatter, then bead blasted to a matte finish, and had them treated with Black Nitride. Here is my set after stripping chrome/nickle and going with Black Nitride:

I went through a period back in 2007-2008 where I did the exact same thing with a few sets of irons. Used muriatic acid to strip the chrome, then the b-9 stripper. The black you first get on the irons is called nickel smoot or something like that. The white parts you still have is where you still have nickel on the head. Same thing happened to me and was told it was likely because I was using a pot and the heads were not suspended in the stripper solution. When they rest on the surface of the pot that spot doesn't get stripped as well. The other areas that have white spots is most likely because of no circulation around that part of the head.

I just moved them around more in the pot until those areas were finally stripped of nickel. If I remember correctly, two of the sets I did, I had to buy a second batch of stripper to complete the job because I was having issues keeping the temp at the correct temp due to an electric stove. The ideal setup would be to have them suspended in a tank which will ensure circulation around the heads that way all nickel is removed easily.

You're on the right track. Just keep them in the solution longer and agitate them more during the process. I used BBQ tongs to move them around every once in a while.

Oh, and my first set I did was some MP 32s that came out great. I did about 4 sets like that with the last being some Titleist 681 custom grinds that had a square toe and were nasty as hell. Sold them on here for a pretty penny. I lived in Guam at the time so it was difficult getting everything together but Caswell plating and the B-9 stripper was the key and is a great product if used correctly.

On 5/1/2019 at 2:59 PM, Hack Daddy said:

 

Here's what mine looked like when I got them back. I'll have to call the guy and ask him what he used.

 

Hi there, i know its pretty old post but i was digging as have same tour trusty wedges that need a refinish. Did you eventually find out what your guy used for stripping?I'd love to copper plating. many thanks