Now that I plan to routinely remove the old plate with at 20% muriatic acid solution before blasting in order to avoid contaminating my electrolyte I began to worrying about hydrogen embrittlement. This is a issue that I’ve run across a few times while researching electroplating. As I understand it, the idea is that hydrogen ions freed from the HCl solution while the metal is in the acid get trapped inside the metal and make the part brittle. This can lead to failure while in use. However, based on this summary of hydrogen embitterment (see page 11) and the Rockwell Hardness (HRC) material strength values given by Fuller, I really only need to be concerned for nuts and bolts with hardnesses above 10.9. so in possibly all cases I should be fine but I will keep an eye out for bolts and nuts above 10.9.
