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oxidation cleaning ?
- Thread starter boxster
- Start date
E9KNZ047
Active Member
Try Autosol - Metal Polish - German product and very good for restoring brightwork without scratching and also for removing light, medium oxidation - esp on aluminium.
PaulinPa
Well-Known Member
I can recommend "One Grand" brand chrome polish.Wiped it on a bumper section that had been sitting in a barn so long it had green stuff on it and after sitting a few moments rubbed it off with fine steel wool and boy did it shine!
chrome polish...
Well, this will either cause a stir, or not; but it's my take. You metallurgist/chemist types please correct me. The shiny, reflective surface that you see when you see "chrome", is actually the nickel plating. The (super thin) plating called chrome, is actually transparent. Chrome is as good as it will ever be, when it comes out of the tank. If you have a residue on top of this nickel/chrome plating, it can be cleaned, but as far as polishing, I dont think that there is such a thing. Yes you can "polish" off residue, but to actually polish the chrome itself, very little will be happening... Metals that have no protection can be polished; ie, gold, silver, aluminum, steel, bronze, brass, etc., because you are actually removing oxidation and some base material to expose the virgin material. But most of what we have on our cars has a top-coating to protect, and to have kept us all from having to do any polishing (in theory). The steel bumpers, window trim, etc, have a nickel, and then a chrome plate. Sometimes multiples of said plating and some with copper before the nickel. The polished aluminum parts, are all clear-anodized.
All that being said, a little carnuba wax worked on chrome with 0000 steel wool, or fine bronze wool, and then buffed off with a soft cotton towel, is about as good as it gets. The "fog" or "milky" areas on chrome are under the chrome barrier, and no polish can set it free. Personally, I think that "chrome polish" is snake oil.
If, by chance, you were addressing the belt-line trim (that is anodized aluminum), then check the archives. Its a whole 'nother beast that cant be polished without stripping the clear anodizing coat first. Dave V. in NC
Well, this will either cause a stir, or not; but it's my take. You metallurgist/chemist types please correct me. The shiny, reflective surface that you see when you see "chrome", is actually the nickel plating. The (super thin) plating called chrome, is actually transparent. Chrome is as good as it will ever be, when it comes out of the tank. If you have a residue on top of this nickel/chrome plating, it can be cleaned, but as far as polishing, I dont think that there is such a thing. Yes you can "polish" off residue, but to actually polish the chrome itself, very little will be happening... Metals that have no protection can be polished; ie, gold, silver, aluminum, steel, bronze, brass, etc., because you are actually removing oxidation and some base material to expose the virgin material. But most of what we have on our cars has a top-coating to protect, and to have kept us all from having to do any polishing (in theory). The steel bumpers, window trim, etc, have a nickel, and then a chrome plate. Sometimes multiples of said plating and some with copper before the nickel. The polished aluminum parts, are all clear-anodized.
All that being said, a little carnuba wax worked on chrome with 0000 steel wool, or fine bronze wool, and then buffed off with a soft cotton towel, is about as good as it gets. The "fog" or "milky" areas on chrome are under the chrome barrier, and no polish can set it free. Personally, I think that "chrome polish" is snake oil.
If, by chance, you were addressing the belt-line trim (that is anodized aluminum), then check the archives. Its a whole 'nother beast that cant be polished without stripping the clear anodizing coat first. Dave V. in NC
E9KNZ047
Active Member
Autosol is available from most car shops over here - if you want but cannot locate where you live I am happy to send a tube over. No problem.