How do you correct chrome pieces?

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11Silverado

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I have chrome bumpers, running boards, mirror caps, door handles, and exhaust tips on my 2011 Silverado. They have horrible swirl marks and I have had no luck removing them. Can you guys give me suggestions on what works? Do I need to do the typical compound and then polish? I've tried using carpro gloss pads and menzerna sf4000, not sure if I need to start with something more aggressive or not. I've attached a picture to give you guys an idea of what pieces I am talking about. Maybe some of you guys have corrected trucks similar to mine.View attachment 54466
 
To be completely honest, I'm not so sure chrome can even be "corrected". If it were polished metal rather than electroplated chrome, then it could be refined / corrected.
 
I've had decent luck with regular essence and Microfiber pads on my Harley.

Didn't completely remove (or fill) all the swirls but made them look a whole lot better


Sent from my iPhone using Autogeekonline mobile app
 
That's what I seem to be figuring it out which makes me quite sad. The swirls are driving me nuts.
 
I'll have to order essence one of these days and give that a shot.
 
Ini Malaysia, we have this product.

not sure about swirls though, but to my understanding, it is a chrome polish

OSREN | Home

For exhaust and door handle, i use meguairs metal polish
 
Tread lightly when polishing chrome trim. The plating is very thin on most of today's cars, especially the cheap plastic pieces. IMO it's not worth the risk.
 
Just to chime in...


I've been detailing cars all my life now and writing how-to articles for over 20 years. So I've seen a lot of products and I've seen a lot of "information".

I've never seen first hand - scratches or swirls buffed out of real chrome plating.

I've heard guys say it can be done. But none of the guys that say it can be done have ever shown me the product. Shown me the process. Shown me before and after. Just talk.

If the chrome trim on your truck has swirls, which are a circular type of scratch, then you "may" be able to improve them but I doubt you can remove them.

Forrest from Mothers seems to be an expert on this topic so I'll cede to him for more information. I will say that I've used the Mothers Chrome Polish and first of all it's SAFE for chrome plated plastic trim on cars. It's important to choose a safe product or you'll cause the problems you're trying to remove, that is you'll instill scratches into the chrome surface.


Mothers Chrome Polish is an easy-to-use liquid metal polish that cleans & brightens chrome wheels and rims. Mothers Chrome Polish is gentle on shiny


I think the technical term used for chroming plastic is

PVD or Physical Vapor Deposition


Again, I've seen Forrest talk about this with a lot more knowledge than myself.


When it comes to normal or traditional chrome plated steel, like the chrome bumpers on my truck. I buff them out with a one-step cleaner/wax and whatever pad and tool I'm using already for the paint and this removes ROAD FILM staining the same way a cleaner/wax removes road film staining off paint. It brightens the chrome and restores the shine but it does not remove swirls or scratches.

The most important thing to do with chrome is avoid putting scratches into it in the first place.


:)
 
ahhh. sorry, it is indeed not chrome. my mistake.
discard and forget what i just share. lol
 
Hola, and Happy New Year!

On the 2011Silverado, the "chrome" surfaces are likely several different material types:

• Chrome film vacuum formed over a plastic surface (think grilles, possibly the door handle covers and chrome mirror caps)

•Stainless steel (exhaust tips and likely the running boards and bumpers. Possibly the door handle covers.)

I am of the opinion swirls and scratches cannot be removed from "real" chrome plating - which is a hard, thin plating over a copper substrate. Like Mike, I've never seen it happen. Yes, you can hide it by filling, but a scratch is a scratch. I would not use a regular chrome polish on the chrome "film" - it will abrade through the surface after several application. Our Mothers California Gold All-Chrome Cleaner is safe to use on this finish to clean, shine and protect.

Stainless requires speed to polish to a finish comparable to a chrome-like finish. That means using a tool (drill, rotary, etc.). You'll also need to multi-step with polishes to first remove the large scratches with smaller scratches (which is the definition of polishing) and then a finer polish or two to finish it off. We make an aggressive metal polish (Mothers PowerMetal Scratch Removing Polish, metal polish, remove metal scratches) which works well as the first step.

Generally, window trim isn't chrome - it's commonly anodized aluminum. Anodizing is about impossible to restore without removing the anodized coating. It can also be stainless depending on the vehicle.

Are all of the surfaces on your Silverado you mentioned (chrome bumpers, running boards, mirror caps, door handles, and exhaust tips) factory, or were any of them installed by the dealer or aftermarket? If so, it's difficult to suggest a product/process since there are so many variables. Close up pics always help.
 
Here's a quick example of what Essence can do on REAL chrome (have not tried it on plastic chrome). First picture is the before. Second is the after. Please note I only did the top pipe on the left hand side. I was attempting to do a 50/50 but couldn't capture it very well ..






Hopefully you can see the difference ... :)

Like I said not perfect but it was a definite improvement. But with that said I'm gonna duck out of this thread as you're getting a bunch of great advice from Forrest, Rasky, and of course Mike Phillips :xyxthumbs:
 
What is suggested for anodized aluminum? I'm pretty sure that is what my 2011 BMW has around its windows. I've used the Britemax twins with zero luck. Would Mothers Aluminum Polish do the trick?
 
11Silverado said:
That's what I seem to be figuring it out which makes me quite sad. The swirls are driving me nuts.
Click to expand...
A lot of those accents aren't chrome but rather chrome plastic.Unfortunately there isn't much you can do to improve.
 
rlmccarty2000 said:
What is suggested for anodized aluminum? I'm pretty sure that is what my 2011 BMW has around its windows. I've used the Britemax twins with zero luck. Would Mothers Aluminum Polish do the trick?
Click to expand...

Our Mag & Aluminum Polish will remove the anodized coating.

After that you'll need to repolish the trim on a regular basis.
 
douglastwx said:
Ini Malaysia, we have this product.

not sure about swirls though, but to my understanding, it is a chrome polish

OSREN | Home

For exhaust and door handle, i use meguairs metal polish
Click to expand...
How many of you caught where the guy just cleaned the surface with some type of solvent and immediately swiped his finger on the trim leaving behind oil from his finger. He did do a good job.
 
From my experience from working at Mercedes Benz for many years,we used a cleaner wax to restore those with a little help from a rotary.
 
According to Mercedessource, that aluminum window trim found on German luxury cars such as BMW and Benz is next to impossible to restore once it's become oxidized or swirled. He's got a video where he's gone through nearly every product and technique imaginable with little to no success...

In the end it's 1 of those special PITA parts that they've decided to go with as part of those particular vehicles. Just about every vehicle, especially luxury cars tend to have certain parts that boggle the mind with their grand inconvenience.. i.e. the starter on a Northstar equipped Cadillac being located underneath the engine, requiring the whole engine to be pulled out of the car to simply replace the starter. [I pray my starter never goes out] Lol.

If it's the same kind of aluminum trim they used from the beginning up until at least a few years ago, you're better off just replacing it new.


Sent from my iPhone
 
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