A long time ago when I was a teenager first starting work in Seattle's shipyards, an old machinist who rode Harleys told me that whenever he got a part chromed he put it in his oven for some period of time to keep it from getting brittle. I figure maybe he was talking about hydrogen embrittlement, which could indeed happen in the acid chroming bath.
I figure heating the metal would expand the lattice, allowing the (tiny) hydrogen atoms to migrate. Presumably at least half of the ones right near the edge would migrate right out of the part, and the remainder would diffuse throughout the part, lowering the risk of a crack starting.
Is this what actually happens? If I soak some parts in salt/vinegar (a real good way to remove rust from small parts) but am worried about H embrittlement, can I bake the parts at say 350F for a couple of hours and solve the problem?
Grant Erwin