I came upon this metal finishing site earlier tonight:

Chrome Plating: Introduction & FAQs

the above being included and may give pause to the neophyte wanting to

"clean the chrome on my bike".

Suggestion: NO abraisives! Note the thickness of the chromium plate.


Regards,
J T

Wow, great link! That's more condensed info on chrome than I would have thought possible.

"Still trying to win this old argument, J.T. ?
OK. I'll concede. You're right.
HEY YOU NEOPHYTES! Use NO abrasives on your chrome plating!!!!"

You still don't Get It:

"Not being exactly a neophyte, I've done it. With good results."

"The coating is usually so thin it can be rubbed through in nothing flat. If you're not extremely careful."

"Cotton cloth could be considered an abrasive. Rubbing with your thumb is somewhat abrasive."

"Personally, I've no luck removing rust spotting on chrome using mere solvents and cloths."

" I use a light touch, and light abrasive action, using something or other."

"But I won't recommend my method to any neophytes. ;>

"Pumice: (an abrasive) 6"


I suggest that you reread and understand as to what was related to within The Link.

J T

J T & Mtnbke were separated at birth..

I'll see if I can dig up a video using coarse steel wool on some chrome bumpers.

I once bought a Schwinn Heavy-Duti with chrome fenders. It appeared to have once been yellow, fenders nicely "misted" in rust.
I took Rustoleum's Rust Remover to it. 2/3 of the rust came off.
I took 0000 steel wool and WD40 to it. .332 of the rust came off.
I took chrome polish and 0000 steel wool, then chrome polish and a towel, then chrome polish and a t-shirt.

Then I buffed with a ShamWow. The fenders looked like new, other than dings. Heck, I even cleaned the undersides.

I did the same thing on the other pieces, like stem, bars, Ashtabula crank arms, etc. They all came very clean.

I tried the same thing on the paint, but stopped at steel wool and WD40, then washed and went to rubbing compound, then Kit Wax.

I paid $20 for the bike. It had original tires, original tubes. I had to buy a saddle, got one from a local junk store for $20.

It took about 12-14 hours of work, probably $15 of supplies.

I sold the bike for $160 plus shipping to a guy in Iowa.
A week later, he called for the fenders, $120 plus shipping.

"Wow, great link! That's more condensed info on chrome than I would have thought possible."

Thank you poprad

Kind regards.
J T


Now, let's get down to brass tacks:

"Still trying to win this old argument, J.T. ? "
rootboy.

To you and the other "gentlemen" upon this Forum, continue to revel within your individual and collective ignorance.

Happy Birthday!


J T
30

And further separated, perhaps, by their relative prolixity.

Could you imagine mtnbke bowing out after a half dozen terse lines? I think not.

What does thickness have to do with anything?

Thickness has everything to do with this thread.

I was a butch when flipping cheap bikes, single edge razor over the rust and wd40,
I would flip 40 bikes a summer in Finland, being unemployed allowed one the time.
2 thanksgivings ago I picked up a perfect rust free bike to flip, I advertised it and sat on it for a year, learned its not really profitable to flip in the states
Now that I am properly full time employed flipping bikes is not high on my list.

but back to chrome! neverdull is a great product. semichrome is also

I use chrome polish and have NEVER worried about digging through the finish. Ever. Why? Because chrome plating is tougher than whatever is on it that needs cleaning to remove it. If there is rust, go lightly to remove it. Once chrome is pitted, all you can hope for is a clean and shiny pitted chrome.

J.T. has been telling us for years that chrome is thin. I don't think it's news to anyone. He always leaves in a huff. I guess you could say that's his style.

Simichrome (not semichrome) is a metal polish that can be used to clean and remove surface rust from chrome. It can't polish chrome. Chrome is too hard. it does a great job of polishing softer metals like aluminum and brass. So do a lot of other products.

Let's settle the issue....if you use a high speed wheel with rouge similar to what plating plants use (I worked in one) you could easily burn through chrome plating and into sub-layers where bright nickel, dull nickel and copper strike are waiting.

But we arent even mildly hinting of this industrial use of applied and accepted method. We are talking about hand rubbing. Now, if you are talking about polishing your chrome every night like an inmate trying to dig through a concrete wall with a rock pick.......