"Andrew Gabriel" wrote in message
.. .
Anyone tried soldering chromed pipe?
Looking to make a join with an endfeed fitting rather than a bulky
chrome compression fitting, which I might try painting silver afterwards.
I presume you have to strip the chrome to do the soldering, but does
the heat wreck the chrome further back up the pipe? (I don't have a
piece to hand to try it on, or I'd answer my own question.)

Poor quality chrome can flake, due to differential expansion, but otherwise
there should be no noticeable effect, unless you overheat it. The best way
to strip the chrome off is to heat the pipe gently and dip it in
hydrochloric acid. Naturally, this is something that needs to be done with
care and with suitable protective measures, but you get very precise control
over how far it is stripped back and a neat line between chromed and (very
clean) non-chromed bits. Solder as quickly as possible after dipping for
best effect.

Colin Bignell