Sure, muriatic acid will probably strip chrome, but what is it doing to the metal? Making it brittle? I think Phosphoric acid will take the chrome off and be much more friendly to the underlying metal. I am not sure about this, but I have dipped a rusty chrome plated part in phosphoric acid/water solution and watched the solution turn green as it dissolved the chrome.
I stay away from muriatic acid on metal. Just a thought.
