Protecting (and cleaning) chrome

[Don Wiss]

I have a glass table with chrome sawhorse legs. I haven't polished them in

20 years. As the table is dismantled I want to take the opportunity to clean them.

I'm using Noxon. It is very slow going. It takes a lot of rubbing to get the rust off. I'm thinking a Dobie sponge, maybe with the sponge removed, would be better.

But my big question is after I get it all clean just what can I do to keep it from rusting again? Some sort of wax? Doing some google searching I find that Mother's Chrome Polish claims to protect. I bought the all-purpose Noxon as I did not find anything in the store that was chrome specific. But then I did not go to an automotive store.

So what do people here suggest I do?

Don (e-mail link at home page bottom).

[Nate Nagel]

you might want to post to an automotive group for ideas; polishing old chrome is a common automotive task :(

I have heard that crumpled up aluminum foil will help quite a bit, try using that instead of a rag for inital polishing.

nate

[Don Wiss]

Interesting suggestion. I had not thought of that. I don't own a car, so I've never checked out whether such groups even exist.

I did see that in my google searches. I would think that it could scratch the chrome.

Don (e-mail link at home page bottom).

[hallerb]

there are people who can rechome it, if its rusty the chrome finish has failed.

look for auto body chrome companies.

their business has collapsed, newer cars have no chrome

[dadiOH]

Chrome doesn't rust. If your piece is rusty it is the steel under the chrome that is rusting and that means the plating job was less than stellar in the first place.

Chrome is hard (much harder than aluminum foil) but it is also porous. Perhaps you have heard the phrase, "triple chrome plated"? That doesn't mean three layers of chrome on the steel, it means a layer of copper followed by a layer of nickel followed by the chrome. In your case, it would seem the steel itself was chromed.

If you get it cleaned up - hint: chrome polish - nothing you do will keep the steel from continuing to rust. Paste wax may slow it but it

*will* continue. Rechroming is probably not a viable solution due to cost...the piece would have to be dechromed (no big deal) and the steel ground down to remove all pitting before polishing and replating. Big bucks.