Classic & Vintage - Treating pitted chrome

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View Full Version : Treating pitted chrome


leejb2
12-24-06, 03:17 AM
I've got a shiny problem. The attached photo is of a section of chainstay. The chrome is clearly pitted. While I've read a lot of threads on treating rust on chrome, I haven't found a lot of information on treating chrome that's already pitted. If I just want to stabilize the area so that it doesn't get worse between now and the time I decide to get the frame refinished, what do I need to do? Can I just go over it with Flitz/Simichrome and then follow with a coat of wax? Can anyone recommend a wax product?

Thanks so much!


Wino Ryder
12-24-06, 04:35 AM
#0000 steel wool followed by 'Turtle Wax' Chrome Polish and Rust Remover. That should keep the pitting from getting worse. I've used that for years. Works good.

jbrians
12-24-06, 06:38 AM
I'm not sure if you can find this stuff where you are. I have used a product called G96 sold as a gun treatment in aerosol cans. Yellow and black label. This stuff is so good, I spray it on BARE metal, let it sit for 24 hours and wipe it off and the metal is resistant to rusting for months thereafter.
Polish the chrome with 0000 steel wool dipped in this stuff and you can buy yourself a lot of time before you need to refinish the whole frame.


mswantak
12-24-06, 07:32 AM
Yikes! What happened to that chrome? It looks like acid etching.

leejb2
12-24-06, 12:08 PM
Yikes! What happened to that chrome? It looks like acid etching.

I have no clue, but I wish I did. I got the frame off eBay, and while the damage was clearly visible in the pictures, it just looked like grunge. I'm too attached to the thing to let it go, though.

You should see the fork dropouts! I soaked them in coke and did some scrubbing. I don't think I can do much more, though, with what I have on hand. I've attached some before and after photos of the fork dropouts.

M-theory
12-24-06, 04:42 PM
Wet sanding with 600grit followed by dremel polishing and then finally Rustolium laquer clear coat.....will keep it in check for a few years.

cudak888
12-24-06, 04:52 PM
I got the frame off eBay, and while the damage was clearly visible in the pictures, it just looked like grunge.

Could you give us a link to the auction? Just for my own reference, I'd like to see how the rust showed up in the auction photos.

-Kurt

cudak888
12-24-06, 04:53 PM
Wet sanding with 600grit followed by dremel polishing and then finally Rustolium laquer clear coat.....will keep it in check for a few years.

I'd expect that to look worse then the rust pitting itself.

-Kurt

M-theory
12-24-06, 05:42 PM
""I'd expect that to look worse then the rust pitting itself.""

Ha..... well you'd be a bit suprized then. I recently did it to some obliterated Bottecchia chrome forks and now they look.... well somewhat uniform.

leejb2
12-24-06, 07:11 PM
Could you give us a link to the auction? Just for my own reference, I'd like to see how the rust showed up in the auction photos.

-Kurt

Here you go:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=006&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWN%3AIT&viewitem=&item=160059791104&rd=1&rd=1