Is there a chemical method for bluing chromed steel or aluminum? I have
seen color changes when chromed parts such as exhaust pipes are heated,
but in my mind heating does not create very predictable results.

cheers
T.Alan

Aluminum can be anodized and dyed black or painted.
It can also be plated with another metal that could be blackened by a
existing process. That's about it.

There is a commercial process called black chrome
see http://techplate.com/black_chrome.htm

I know of no method for direct coloring of existing chrome plate, but I
suspect that Brownells Oxynate 84
blacking bath would do it. You could call or email their tech line and ask
them.

http://www.brownells.com/aspx/NS/sto...LUING+COMPOUND

Randy



"T.Alan Kraus" wrote in message
...
Is there a chemical method for bluing chromed steel or aluminum? I have
seen color changes when chromed parts such as exhaust pipes are heated,
but in my mind heating does not create very predictable results.

cheers
T.Alan

"R. O'Brian" wrote in message
news:_tu7f.21788$OM4.5782@dukeread06...
Aluminum can be anodized and dyed black or painted.

True, but it's not limited to black. Aluminum that has been properly
anodized can be dyed pretty much any color one desires.


Harold

From my limited experience of tempering some steel parts about 16" long
in a ceramic kiln at 290C, the colouration should be repeatable and even
if the part is clean and the temperature even. The parts I did were all
an even blue colour for a spring temper. IIRC the colour change for
stainless steel occurs at about 100C more than for steel, might apply to
chrome plate also.

T.Alan Kraus wrote:

Is there a chemical method for bluing chromed steel or aluminum? I
have seen color changes when chromed parts such as exhaust pipes are
heated, but in my mind heating does not create very predictable results.

cheers
T.Alan

Steel can have a black chrome plating so I would expect that chromed
steel could have additional chrome plated on which would be black.
Google on Black chrome.

Dan