cleaning up chrome

[alpine in calgary]

Cant say for sure if this has been posted for sure.....best method I have found for cleaning up chrome is coca-cola(the real coke that is) and aluminium foil....just finished up a bumper and a luggage rack and they turned out great

 

[Lester]

you've stated ingredients; now how about method? You've got me curious.
I remember in school, we used coke to eat nails. Now, that's what I call refreshing! My chrome has seen better days, possibly 40 years ago.
Thanks, Lester

 

[Nickodell]

Cola drinks get their "kick" (apart from the caffein) from phosphoric acid, which is an effective rust remover. Seems like it will dissolve oxides of other metals besides iron. However, I'm not sure where the alumin(i)um foil comes into the picture.

If you can get hold of some dilute phosphoric acid it will do the same job without the sticky mess of cola.

 

[alpine in calgary]

Cola drinks get their "kick" (apart from the caffein) from phosphoric acid, which is an effective rust remover. Seems like it will dissolve oxides of other metals besides iron. However, I'm not sure where the alumin(i)um foil comes into the picture.

If you can get hold of some dilute phosphoric acid it will do the same job without the sticky mess of cola.

As far as I can tell the aluminium foil acts like a "filler" in so far that the rust is stripped away and the foil takes it's place.

I wish I had taken before & after pics as the luggage rack looked sparkling after a good rub down with Mothers chrome polish...the first thing I thought when I got the rack from ebay was re-chrome.....but after a good bit of elbow grease in the bathtub with 3 cans of coke and 2 feet of foil it looked like it would have costed damn near $300 compared to the $45 I paid for it

it

 

[Lester]

So, the chrome is soaked in cola, how long? and then rubbed with aluminium? I'm still unclear...sorry.
Cheers, Lester

 

[atallamcs]

Coke

Actually you use Turtle Wax Chrome Polish with a micro fiber towel. Between applications you sip your coke and if it is a big job, you wrap the coke can in foil to keep it cool.
Bill

 

[64beam]

That is one weird chrome polishing method. What alot of people down under have used is 'Brite Shine', which is like cotton wool inpregnated with a metal polish. Using this plus good old fashioned elbow grease after cleaning the car brings it up very nicely. Having good chrome helps too of course. Even better than drinking Coke after working up a sweat, is an icey cold beer.

Regards, Robin.

 

[Bill Blue]

No need to use the "Real Thing". A couple of years ago I used Diet Rite and got very good results. No need to soak, just dip the part or foil in the soda and start rubbing. Keep the surface damp. Good results can be had very quickly. I like the diet stuff because it does not leave sticky residue.

Bill

 

[Jay Laifman]

So, the chrome is soaked in cola, how long? and then rubbed with aluminium? I'm still unclear...sorry.
Cheers, Lester

Me too. Still waiting for how the aluminum gets used (though I loved Bill's response).

 

[Series6]

Actually you use Turtle Wax Chrome Polish with a micro fiber towel. Between applications you sip your coke and if it is a big job, you wrap the coke can in foil to keep it cool.
Bill

Hey Bill,

Is it safe to assume (using your method) Henry Weinhards Root Beer could be substituted?

 

[Tullamore]

The show Mythbusters on the Discovery Channel did a bunch of experiments with Coke and found that using it with aluminum foil actually is a very good polisher.

 

[tfctpa]

Gotta love Mythbusters! All my practical knowledge comes from them. As Adam once said "I reject your reality and substitute my own." Words to live by.

 

[Pumpkin]

cola

NOw this is the spot for tech tips,, also I do not believe you can " soak chrome" with any thing under 1500 degs f..

For cleaning windows use the daily rag, some call a "newspaper" . Besides birdcage filler, this is the next best thing for the paper. You can use windex on it, then wipe good. Works real good for mirrors.

my .025 p
CHuck

 

[alpine in calgary]

Me too. Still waiting for how the aluminum gets used (though I loved Bill's response).

pour a few cans of coke into a bucket take the tinfoil and scrunch it into a ball,dip it into the coke and scrub away

 

[65beam]

clean chrome

0000 steel wool works great also

 

[Lester]

all right! thanks all. I will get going on this. Before and after pictures are in order...
-Lester

 

[Nickodell]

0000 steel wool works great also

Aaaagh! Maybe it looks OK after the job, but I would think that this would remove much of the chromium, which is only a few microns thick, and that would speed the corrosion. Hence aluminum, which is soft by comparison.

 

[skywords]

I am game I'll do anything to keep my checkbook out of the chrome shop. But I can hear it now "Hey who drank the last Coke! and where the F&#$ is my tin foil.

Rick

 

[65beam]

0000 steel wool

no worse than pouring acid on it and then using some other metal to rub it.

 

[Nickodell]

no worse than pouring acid on it and then using some other metal to rub it.

A little learning is a dangerous thing. Acids range from the very strong, like hydrofluoric - which will dissolve virtually anything, including glass - nitric, hydrochloric and sulfuric (which will dissolve most metals) at one extreme, and weak ones like many organic acids such as acetic (in vinegar), citric (in citrus fruits) and even those that the body produces, at the other extreme. Phosphoric acid is a weak acid (otherwise we wouldn't be drinking quarts of it every year) and will not harm metals such as steel, nickel and chromium.

And aluminum is a soft metal which won't harm chromium either. Steel wool is hard, and will scratch most surfaces. If you've had good luck with it, great. I wouldn't let it near my plating.