polishing chrome on these cars

[Lorna c]

wow . taking my time getting the layer s off But it's coming off !! I'm getting allot more mirror on the side with muffler .. boy . I'll post pics when I'm done but , what I've noticed so far on the chrome is
if you hear any sound at all when wiping it or buffing it , a slight scratching sound , some areas will be much louder and deeper and some you will barely hear anything at all . the less you hear , the less buildup is present . until you hear nothing there's oxidation built up . even if you can't see any reflection and it looks "thinning " it'll come off if you hear and scratch sound when wiping it.. it'll take forever but it'll come . nice and mirror like I'm seeing .

[Lorna c]

ok so it seems I've found an effective mixture for this chrome .. so far I've gotten the best results from .... ketchup ,pumice and tinfoil mixed.. I get so much gross black crud showing up with this mix it has to be more effective .. . ok more pictures when the sun comes up.. I'm so close , I've got to have a mirror shine by tomorrow..

[Lorna c]

all this black is from 10 seconds of scrubbing with ketchup and tinfoil . no pumice added today yet .. I don't think I got this much black all together the way I was scrubbing before . yek . I hope this don't wreck my love for ketchup. it really stinks when you start to pull up the black

[Lorna c]

that's the tin foil making the black huh !? anyway I think you have to clean it as many time as years old . ugh . at least where the tailpipe sits . that's the only part hanging on . switched to tooth past the white kind with peroxide and Baki g soda in it (whitening) I'll hit this a few more times and see . no would der y'all use a bench grinder ..haha what do you hang it above it and let it just spin for a while ..haha that's what I'd think about by now ..haha the bumper is coming off I'm thinking ..

[Lorna c]

I've mentioned this before but the the most used tool for my restoration has been my 6 inch Harbor Freight bench polisher. It's cheap (about $35) smooth, quiet, and does a wonderful job of shinning chrome, aluminum, and stainless. You can take lightly pitted parts like your tail lights and headlight scoops and make them look nearly new. You can make dull aluminum and stainless shine like chrome in no time at all. I take any nut, bolt, or washer that's going to be visible and hit it with the polisher for a few seconds to bring back the original shine. You can even use it on the black plastic knobs, just be sure to use a very gentle touch. One very important thing to remember is that if you do not have a secure hold on what you are polishing the wheel can rip it out of your hand and send it flying to parts unknown! A small pair of vise grips works well for the nuts and bolts, and a pair of gloves lets you get closer with the bigger ones. Keep in mind that the parts you polish will get hot, so don't immediately grab them with your bare hands. This tool will pay for itself tenfold!
PS don't forget to pick up a few sticks or rouge for the various materials your going to polish. Mike

what is rouge and a few sticks ? of what ? I have a soft rag wheel but dono what u mean here . on that .pls

[Lorna c]

well it's finally happening . starting to see mirror on the spot above my tailpipe .

[Lorna c]

ok well I got some reflection going finally . went and got a majic eraser and put the red wax stick (rouge) on it . attached it to a wheel for my drill and in >5 mins I'm getting mirror but I'm through half the eraser already. so get more and keep going ....

[Lorna c]

the red stick of wax polish (rouge ) is the ticket after you stage it all down . got up to 3000 sand paper grit and it's coming along . taking my time doing it between things so it's taking forever but it's coming .. this spot was obnoxiously hard but I'm winning .

[Lorna c]

For old chrome in general with rust that is not to severe I have found this to work well on old wheels , mirrors and even did some chairs for an appartment

Lots of work but cheaper than replating if the chrome is not too bad

Step1.
Clean thoroughly with dishwasher soap and water

Step 2.
Clean the affected areas with diet cola and aluminum foil
Fold the aluminum foil into square and rub on the chrome part using the cola as a lubricant until rus is gone and you have a somewhat shiny surface
there's a chemical reaction from the aluminum to the chrome that removes the rust pitting similar to the rust stopping product and the acid in the coke enhances this effect.

Step 3
Rinse and clean thoroughly again with dishwasher soap and water

Step 4
Dry surface with microfibre cloth , dont let dry by air

Step 5
Polish with a chrome wheel polish product as per manufacturer's instructions (I.e. Meguiars Hot Rim Chrome polish)

Step 6 (optional)
Apply 2 coats of carnauba wax or paint sealant

Step 7
Post pictures on 311.org so everyone can go WOW!


Jack

Ps. For step 2 if pitting is a deeper and doesn't come off substitute aluminum foil for #0000 or #000 steel wool but USE WITH EXTREME CARE

when i said "now who's going to follow that" i meant what's going to out input in after those perfect instructions . not I'm not going to do all that ...... i hope you didn't take it that way !! for some reason as i was going to 3000 on paper it popped into my head then i even heard it wrong in memory . haha if that makes sense .. idk just saying in case ..

[Lorna c]

typos .. "who's going to want to put in input after that ...bla bla bla haha" self correct is a bit off sometimes ..

[Copterpilot]

If you do use a bench grinder with a buffing wheel make sure you remove the guard that goes around the wheel. It will redirect any part right back down on your hand. This happened to me many years ago in High School shop class. Just about took my finger off.

[Lorna c]

If you do use a bench grinder with a buffing wheel make sure you remove the guard that goes around the wheel. It will redirect any part right back down on your hand. This happened to me many years ago in High School shop class. Just about took my finger off.

I was thinking I could rig a extend shaft that screws onto the shaft . then hook a ragwheel to that maybe . hoping to be able to anyway . we'll see . thanks for the looking out ..

[The Neck]

I love this thread.

I'm waiting for some axle parts and in the mean time felt like taking a stab at refinishing my tail lights.

After reading, I'm seeing a few different concoctions that are having some good results. I'm disassembling the lights currently, have two sheets of 1/16" rubber on its way for the gaskets, and I'm going to be working on the chrome in the meantime. I have a decent amount of pitting, and bumps throughout, and was wondering what the more tried and true plan of attack is with this.

I was thinking about soaking the rings in vinegar over night, then going at it with the diet coke and tin foil in the morning. Then once theey are looking nice and clean, hit them with some wax.

Does that sound like a good approach?

Here's a couple pics of the worst parts

https://imgur.com/gallery/PMlzlCO

Mike

[nismou20]

With all the pitting how about painting them a satin chrome or silver? Pitting might blend in with paint. Or these days Vinyl wrappings pretty popular. So many flavors of them even chrome and brushed stainless looks.

[The Neck]

Hhmmm I didn't even think about the vinyl wrap for these guys. The short term plan is to get the chrome bits's looking good, and then wrap the car so It's looking nice and clean.

I'm guessing you mean to clean and sand them smooth, then give them a couple coats of spray paint?