Eastwood Buffing Kit

[Guest shadetree77]

Eastwood has a buffing kit on their site that I'm thinking about trying. One thing I can't seem to find is whether or not you can use this on chromed parts. I recently purchased a set of used bumper guards and one of them is got some light pitting and tarnish type stuff on it. I wanted to try to polish it a little. It doesn't have to be perfect as I want that old driver quality look, but I want to at least shine it up a bit. Has anyone ever used this kit? Do you know if it's ok for chrome? If not, what type of polishing compound should I use for this job? F.Y.I. I've already tried all of the hand polish stuff(Mothers, Meguiars, Turtle Wax, Etc). I need something a little more heavy duty like the Eastwood kit.

Eastwood Buffing Kit - Paint Buffing Kits - Buffing and Polishing Kit

[Restorer32]

You can abrasively clean chrome but you can't really "polish" it.

[impala]

Right, you can't do anything about polishing it but the best way to get rid of minor rust and tarnish is to use very fine (0000) steel wool. It won't scratch the chrome.

impala

[Restorer32]

Chrome is actually clear and harder than Chinese arithmetic. The color you see is the nickle under the microscopically thin layer of chrome. Late '40s and early '50s cars often have chrome plated stainless trim. The stainless can be polished but only after you first have the chrome removed. On small pieces you can sometimes polish off the chrome but it's a real chore.

[skyler]

i used steel wool once on bumpers and it scratced them and they rusted bad after that. i am not sure about the real fine stuff but i would not use it. try bon ami or the stuff that polishes the plastic headlite lenses. really not too much you can do with old chrome like that except enjoy how good it really looks for it's age. skyler

[auburnseeker]

Mothers mag and aluminum polish works about the best I have found. I have buffed Chromed with a buffer as you are thinking and with jewelers or white rouge it comes up more brilliant.

Best bet by hand though is the 0000 steel wool and then follow with alot of elbow grease and Mothers. When you are all done if you leave it out in the rain you will need to put a good layer of wax on it as well to keep the rust from coming back and keep it well waxed.

I use this technique on beautiful NOS chrome very carefully. The steel wool won't scratch the chrome if it is really clean and you don't rub hard. Even with the 0000 steel wool you can scratch it if you put too much effort into it. This is only on super nice chrome. Make sure your rag you use the Mothers with is very clean as well. Any scratches you get when using mothers is from contaminents on your rag not from the polish.

It all boils down to how nice the chrome is you are working on.

Edited October 19, 2011 by auburnseeker
spelling (see edit history)

[Guest shadetree77]

Thanks for all the responses. I have come to the decision that the Eastwood kit is not for use on chrome. I took the chrome piece I've been working on and tried the super fine steel wool(0000) on it with some Mothers Mag and Aluminum Polish. I was hesitant to do this but I tried it on an inconspicuous place first and it worked great. I dipped the super fine wool in the polish and rubbed it on the chrome with firm but gentle pressure and wiped off with a clean soft towel. I then put about 3 coats of wax on it. I included a picture of the piece I was working on. You can clearly see where I stopped and what it looked like before(above) and after(below). I have used this process before on my 79 T-bird's bumper when it got surface rust on it and that worked great also, but I tried this on the tail light surrounds on my 52 Buick and it scratched the crap out of them. So I've used the steel wool/polish method 3 times and it has worked 2 out of 3 times. Wonder what the difference is? Different types of metal? Quality of chrome coating? Condition?

Edited October 21, 2011 by shadetree77 (see edit history)

[vermontboy]

I believe that the difference is 'Korean War chrome"-original chrome plating from that vintage is notoriously thin and rust started within a few months on the chrome plating on many cars. A lot of inconsistancy as well.

[Guest windjamer]

Use a sos pad with lots of water. Do not use dry do not run out of the soap. As long as the piece is wet and the soap pad has lots of soap foam you will not hurt the part. Follow with a good polish. Try it you will like it

[alfourfire]

Does nickel react the same as chrome? The radiator shell on my Whippet is said to be nickel rather than chrome. It has small rust spots, almost as a splash pattern.

[Restorer32]

To be totally correct in a technical sense you aren't really "polishing" the chrome. Polishing implies that you are changing the surface of the chromium layer. Chrome is way too hard (and way too thin) for that. You are doing a thorough cleaning and maybe buffing previously applied wax. If you doubt me try "polishing" out a scratch in chrome. Chrome as applied to auto parts is generally less that 1/1000th of an inch thick or less.

[drwatson]

Windjammer has the best suggestion: "SOS pad with lots of water". The wet SOS pads cut down the labor involved immensely.

Use rubber gloves to avoid skin issues. Rinse. To get great, no streak results after SOS treatment of chrome, apply whitewall cleaner, spread ww cleaner with old paint brush, rinse & towel dry. You'll get excellent and fast results.

NOS Korean chrome should never be treated with SOS pads. Regular but dirty NOS chrome can be cleaned with whitewall cleaner only, rinse and towel dry=mint!