plating low carbon steel and hydrogen embrittlement

[Tmoose]

A spiritual but nearly non technical authority ( Ed, Big Daddy, Roth) felt the reason the Mysterion frame broke just rolling around getting to car shows was because it was chromed and no baking was done immediately afterwards to drive out the hydrogen.

http://www.one-leggedsandpiper.com/C...sterion(2).jpg

page 49 here-
books.google.com/books?isbn=0760328935

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1 - Is there really much danger of hydrogen embrittlement of presumably low carbon cold formed steel? How about forged steel suspension pieces from the 50s (metallurgy unknown, to me)?

2 - Is "hard chrome" less likely to bring Hydrogen Embrittlement issues than ornamental (copper/nickel/chrome) chrome plating?

 

[swall]

No on hydrogen embrittlement in the example you have cited. If the pieces are lower in hardness than Rc 30, hydrogen embrittlement is not an issue. Hard chrome is possibly more likely to experience embrittlement due to the thicker plating thickness. More time in the bath=more hydrogen. It has been my experience in reading the poplular auto magazines that the writers tend to take something they heard about (hydrogen embrittlement) and get out ahead of their knowledge base in their writings.