Cleaning your Chrome [Archive]

TFD69

08-27-2006, 10:40 PM

Cleaning the bits of road tar, melted plastic, or rubber off from the bottom of your passengers soles, even the bluing caused from too rich a mixture (running the bike with choke on too long) can be a difficult task to clean off the chrome pipes of your bike. So I would like to offer up the method I have found to be successful in returning chrome to it's show room finish.

Using a small artist's brush spread "Lepage Super Strippa" a semi-gel paint and vanish remover onto the chrome area to be cleaned. Leave on for approximately 10 minutes. Then using "Super Fine 0000" steel wool rub the area with back and forth strokes removing any unwanted material, wipe area clean with a soft cloth, repeat all of the above if necessary. After you have removed the unwanted material to your satisfaction, then dampen a clean soft cloth with acetone and wipe down all the chrome for a show room finish.

Warning!!!!!!! Apply this method to COLD chrome only. Both the Varnish Remover and Acetone are highly flammable and will drastically harm paint and plastic.

Caution!!!!! Use only Super Fine 0000 (4 zero's) steel wool anything less than 4 zero's will mark the chrome.

ediddy

08-28-2006, 10:32 AM

Good info. I have another chrome problem. On my luggage rack I get rust where the rack was welded. I used Turtle wax chrome polish and cleaner and it will remove the rust, but in a couple of days the rust comes back. Any suggestion? Thanks

EasyRider

08-28-2006, 10:40 AM

on my rack in the same place. Squid's rack from a Goldwing looks just as good without the rust.

Condor

08-28-2006, 12:29 PM

Hmmm, I've been using 000 steel wool for as long as I can remember. Seems to get things shiny again all by itself. When I run into heavy rust I'll bump it up to 0 SW, and then finish with the triple o. The rust coming back it generally cause by steel wool residue left on the chrome. Wash it off, blow dry it and either shoot it with a clear metal seal spray or put some carnuba wax on the area.

juggler

08-28-2006, 12:30 PM

I have Masters Formula Metal polish. This stuff will put a chrome like shine on the bottom of a pop can. I'll post more when I get home.

geresti

10-01-2006, 11:21 AM

Brasso works incredible. No scratching and not much rubbing. For polishing aluminum try Cape Cod Polishing cloth.

bongobobny

10-01-2006, 12:18 PM

Hmmm, I've been using 000 steel wool for as long as I can remember. Seems to get things shiny again all by itself. When I run into heavy rust I'll bump it up to 0 SW, and then finish with the triple o. The rust coming back it generally cause by steel wool residue left on the chrome. Wash it off, blow dry it and either shoot it with a clear metal seal spray or put some carnuba wax on the area.

That's why I'm a firm believer in using 3M plastic scrubbies!! That combined with a good metal polish usually does the trick. One of my favorites is Blue Magic. Lately I've been using Eagle's Nanowax for metal as a final coat which also cleans as you polish but leaves a smoother and more noticable shine...

Condor

10-01-2006, 01:17 PM

That's why I'm a firm believer in using 3M plastic scrubbies!! That combined with a good metal polish usually does the trick. One of my favorites is Blue Magic. Lately I've been using Eagle's Nanowax for metal as a final coat which also cleans as you polish but leaves a smoother and more noticable shine...

Yeah, but can you get #M's in 000? As hard as chrome is, it will scratch when you use a coarser weave? I've used 3M's on boats and it's lethal. Just curious....???

Yammer Dan

10-01-2006, 01:49 PM

Turtle Wax Chrome Cleaner is hard to beat. Use a wax after cleaning. I would like to know about the 3 Ms. Never tried them with chrome cleaner. Sounds like it might be something.

bongobobny

10-01-2006, 03:45 PM

Yeah, but can you get #M's in 000? As hard as chrome is, it will scratch when you use a coarser weave? I've used 3M's on boats and it's lethal. Just curious....???

No, I certainly would not use scrubbies on plastic or fiberglass, as they are about the same hardness and will indeed screatch, but with metal (Not chrome plated plastic) I haven't seen any scratching yet. Of course we are talking about older chrome that is already pitted from rust...

Dan, fo the most part I agree with you on the Turtle wax, but sometime spring the extra for Blue Magic metal polish. To me it seems to work just a slight bit better but that's just my opinion.

Yammer Dan

10-02-2006, 11:52 AM

I'll try it. Looked at it at Wally-World but had about given up on anything beating the Turtle Wax Chrome Cleaner especially very dirty and neglected chrome.

SALTY

10-07-2006, 09:02 PM

Good info. I have another chrome problem. On my luggage rack I get rust where the rack was welded. I used Turtle wax chrome polish and cleaner and it will remove the rust, but in a couple of days the rust comes back. Any suggestion? Thanks
easy...have it rechroned at a local chrome place! Its probably better than some of the chrome on Yammies accessoreis!
Salty

Marcarl

10-08-2006, 09:53 AM

easy...have it rechroned at a local chrome place! Its probably better than some of the chrome on Yammies accessoreis!
Salty
Just my thoughts on this one:
Is there a small hole in the weld? Then moisture is probably getting inside the tubing where there is no chrome and the rust is bleeding out from the inside. If this is the case I would buy a can of chain wax and squirt lots of that into that hole and figure my problem solved