Polishing Plastic "Chrome"

I use PlastX which works well.
I also use m205, all done by hand works for me.
 
I just did a Chrysler Pacifica this weekend and had to clean/polish the chrome wheels. I'm not sure if they were plastic chrome...I would assume they were

I used my mothers powerball with mothers chrome polish. They came out looking alot better they they started.

I'm wonder if there is a better way to polish these types of plastic chrome rims.. ?

Is there a better tool to use than a powerball ?

I see AG sell a cone..megs has the dynocone...Whats the best one to use ?

Thanks
 
I've had good luck with Klasse AIO.
 
Mike Burke said:
Is there a better tool to use than a powerball ?
..megs has the dynocone...

Thanks
Click to expand...

Dyna Cone Rocks!
The DC is dense foam and not pieces of "flappy foam"
the MB doesn't work well due to the "softness" of the flaps.
With the Dyna Cone I can really put some force behind it to really "work" the
metal really hard.

Here's a post I did on polishing my rims with the Dyna Cone.
Be sure to note how I used the "back" of the Dyna Cone to get the edge of the rims polished. Mom's ball couldn't do this.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/show-n-shine/66093-aluminum-rims-restored-protected.html
 
I was able to polish my brothers chrome trim/painted plastic with just a microfiber towel and some CG Metal polish.
 
Detailing by M said:
Well first off there is no such thing as "plastic chrome"
It's chrome, period. What ever is under it has nothing to do with Chrome.
When you "Chrome" something, metal, plastic, wood, glass or anything, it still goes in a nickel bath. period.
Click to expand...

That is just not correct. Cost and environmental pressures have pushed electroplated chrome with nickel and copper underplate to the background, replaced by PVD processes.


Progress in Replacing Decorative Electroplating Chrome Coatings on Plastics with Physical Vapor Deposition Coatings : Products Finishing

Custom Decorative and Functional PVD Coatings and Finishings

PVD Coating Systems
 
swanicyouth said:
I'm wondering if anyone has had success with this? My grill surrounding trim was pretty beat, so I figured I would try polishing it, the OCing it. I figured if it ruins it, I'll just replace it and coat the new one before I install it.

Well, it ruined it. It came about with tan dots all over and it lost some of its reflectiveness. I guess this material can't be polished? I used 3" HT pads on a GG6. First I tried Optimum Polish II. That wasn't working, so I went to Compound. That wrecked the finish.

Anyway, I ordered a new one. This one is matte black, so hopefully it will hold up better and is likely polishable.

I'm just wondering if anyone knows why it didn't work?
Click to expand...

I'm curious about this as well, seems there isn't a definitive product for "chrome clad" trim.

I've used fine polishes on grill surrounds with success, and other small stuff like that, but the one "chrome" surface I haven't been able to touch are wheels.

Many gm cars, and other brands I'm sure, are going to a chrome clad wheel, which is basically a plastic type wheel covering that's permanently adhered to a steel wheel face, thus giving it the appearance of a chrome wheel, but costing much less.

Well I took a shot at polishing out a set of 2009 Chevy Malibu 18" wheels with the chrome cladding. They are covered in fine scratches, the type that I thought a fine polish would have no problem removing. The polish actually seemed to full the surface. I was pissed. I thought I'd have the wheels looking back to amazing in no time, but it instead turned into a nightmare.

Long story short, all I could use was a chemical cleaner type polish, with no abrasives, just to deep clean the wheels for a coating. As far as I know, there's nothing that can be safely used to remove scratches on this type of plastic chrome surface, which is disheartening.

I'd love to know if anyone has used any type of product with success at removing defects, not just simple water spots and dirt.
 
Setec Astronomy said:
.replaced by PVD processes.
Click to expand...

Did you not read your links?
PVD is another "way" to coat plastic with chrome.
PVD isn't Plastic Chrome, it's still plastic COATED with CHROME and not electroplated.
Also it's not being used across the automotive industry.

So back to my point that theres is no such thing as "Plastic Chrome"


PHP: 
 .....increased investments towards elemental chrome PVD coatings to maintain the true chrome appearance.

PHP: 
.....For this reason, PVD chrome has not been deployed in any significant volume in the exterior automotive market.

Maybe someday this process will be implemented but for now the chrome trim on your car is Chrome Plated Plastic. . . . . . . . .
 
Detailing by M said:
When you "Chrome" something, metal, plastic, wood, glass or anything, it still goes in a nickel bath. period.




PVD (Physical Vapor Deposition): A superior approach to chrome plating
Improved functionality and flexibility are the main advantages of the relatively new coating process "PVD coating for plastic parts". PVD coating is a multi-stage process. The parts are first pretreated with a primer coat. Thereafter in the PVD process itself the parts are "sputter coated" in a vacuum chamber while electrically charged. Finally a protective clearcoat layer is sprayed over the metallic finish. Unlike chrome plating there are no cyanide dip tanks or other chemical baths that have negative environmental impacts.
Click to expand...
 
Yes, I did read my own links, and if you took the time, you would realize there is no nickel underplate and that the thickness of PVD chrome is miniscule compared to electroplated chrome. Perhaps you have also missed the posts of other members talking about how they damaged their PVD chrome when they tried to polish it, like the one right before yours, and OH, the OP which started the thread.
 
THE ABOVE ARTICLE SAYS IT'S NOT BEING USED.


Sent while I was Detailing or something related to detailing ;)
 
Detailing by M said:
THE ABOVE ARTICLE SAYS IT'S NOT BEING USED.
Click to expand...

Seriously, are you talking about? Here are some quotes from the article I linked:


"PVD coatings and methods are rapidly advancing as a replacement for decorative electroplated chrome in the automotive, appliance, consumer products and other markets."

"The PVD chrome market is substantial"

They also note that prior to this many chrome-like PVD-coated plastic pieces used aluminum due to a CTE closer to the plastic substrate, which would really be a nightmare if you decided to polish that.
 
I took a photo of the damage of the polished plastic. This is a 50/50. Your left is the unpolished, right side is damaged.

ry5ery6y.jpg


Damaged:

a4u6egaj.jpg


You can see its cloudy.

New grill should be here today. I'm hoping matte black looks good.
 
Edse30 said:
Yep, zero scratches. Actually, I tried my hardest to scratch it in an area that would be covered anyways and I did get it to scratch. So I scaled back a little and continued onto the whole thing.
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...

I tried 0000 steel wool lightly on plastic chrome window trim and it scratched it up like could be expected and didn't touch the water spots.

This is what worked for me: 1200 wet/dry > 1500 > 2000, light compound, cleaner wax. Good as new. Anything less than 1200 took a lot of work to reduce the water spots. This is the process that worked best in this, a particularly bad, case.
 
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