John , a lot of nice chrome has been destroyed over the years by plain old steel wool. You will have about the best luck with Never-Dull or Simichrome. If they won't restore the luster a brillo user probably beat you to there ! . The chrome on old brit bike rims had a layer of zinc beteen the steel and copper. I have used simichrome and a ton of elbow grease and brought back some VERY nasty rims as long as they were never hit with the steel wool. The brass brush and Never-Dull works well on Handle bars , Mufflers , Control levers etc. It also allows you to clean wellinto the nooks and crannies. DON'T use a steel brush it can scratch. Never Dull is a metal polish imprenated into cotton wadding . It is available at some hardware and auto parts stores. If you have trouble finding it ,or the brass brushes Email , We have some good local sources for both. John Sutton wrote:
Would this work on 30 year old dull but not rusted tank panels as well? John S. 73.5 Eldo Civ.
From: Tom Bowes <kk-@home.com> Reply-To: Loopfram-@topica.com To: Loopfram-@topica.com Subject: RE: chrome and steel wool Date: Fri, 7 Dec 2001 16:20:14 +0000
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Ross,
I am not sure if your comments are an endorsement of the steel wool method, or not. Personally, I have yet to see any chrome item that has had the steel wool treatment come out anything but totally, and permanently screwed up. Gary Cheek showed me a much better way to restore moderately rusted chrome using a brass brush and Never Dull. Comb the Never Dull wadding into the brush and then start scrubbing on the chrome until the rust disappears. I have seen him do some items that I would have sworn were going to have to go to the chrome shop, with excellent results. Since he showed me this trick, I have used it many times and recommend it highly. Granted, it is not as good as a rechrome job, but where perfection is not warranted this provides a good substitute.
Ross wrote:
I keep seeing this mentioned, including on Ebay, that to clean up that "old chrome that has rust and pits" just take some mild steel wool to it. Chrome is a very thin layer over nickel, abrasives will only shorten the life of the chrome and expose the nickel.
Tom
'70 (July '69) Ambassador '82 V50-III Shelby Township, Michigan
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