Re: How to remove mirror coating?
Dean Ketelsen (ketelsen@as.arizona.edu)
Mon, 27 Mar 1995 09:42:22 -0700
The standard way of removing aluminum coatings is to use a 6%-8%
concentration of HCL (hydrochloric acid) with a small amount of
CuSO4 (copper sulfate) dissolved in it. The blue crystals tint the
acid green, perhaps why the mixture is called "Green River Solution"?
(I think not!) Anyway, an overcoated mirror will take longer for the
solution to penetrate through pinholes, but it shouldn't take very
much solution to strip an 8" - use a paper towel to hold it in contact
with the surface rather than make a pint of it to dip the mirror into.
-Dean