A couple of newbie questions

BLUGGA

BLUGGA

New member
First off thanks to Wendell Jarvis for his post on tree sap removal made easy with Clearasil facial cleansing pads. Worked very well for me.

Well I`m trying to bring back my 2011 Silverado from 5 years of living outside and neglect. (my bad) Does anyone have any tips on cleaning and polishing that fake paper chrome crap they put on GM grills and I`m sure many other cars and trucks? I`ve tried bug and tar remover, Clearasil pads, chrome polish, all just seem to remove surface dust and grime. I was also wondering what it would entail to remove the door ding strips/pads (that also seem to be impossible to clean) off the doors and polish up the paint?

Here are a couple of pics.IMG_0876.JPGIMG_0877.jpg

Thanks in advance.
Bill
 
There really isnt much to do with that cheap plastic. Its junk. It wont polish like real chrome will.

The side strips can be taken off usually with some fishing line behind them and maybe even some heat (Not too close and dont stay in one spot too long)
 
I can tell you that on my brother`s `07 Classic it was a royal PITA to remove those door strips.

We tried fishing line. It broke.
We tried fishing line + heat. Still broke.
We tried heavier fishing line. It broke.
We tried heavier fishing line + heat. Still broke.

We finally got them off... by grabbing the (fortunately) peeling front edge and pulling while blasting it with the heat gun. I was pretty nervous the whole time but there wasn`t any damage from pulling it off. However, it didn`t pull the adhesive all off but that came off easy enough afterwards.

Also, be extremely careful if you try to polish that "fake paper chrome crap". I was able to on my truck but.... I wasn`t aiming for perfection just trying to clean it up. The chrome plating on the plastic does peel, twist, and bubble extremely easily so take it easy on it.

EDIT: Just as a note, I am not recommending our method to pull the guards off. Just letting you know it was a pain. It was his truck, his choice.
 
the fake chrome.....I just clean it well and put a sealant on it,,,keeps it looking decent and helps with bugs sticking to it
 
BLUGGA- Welcome to Autopia!

The "fake chrome" is an aluminum-based coating applied over plastic. NO way to correct it, you live with the imperfections or you replace it. Using a good wax/sealant/coating will help keep such surfaces nice, but actual abrasions and impacts are simply gonna damage it, permanently.

While *I* wouldn`t remove those bump-strips (I`d clean/compound/polish/seal or wax them), if you do want to try it, be aware that sometimes...just sometimes...it opens a can-o`-worms that you`ll need a paint-and-body shop to fix. I`d use 3M Adhesive Remover, which is made specifically for that kind of job.
 
Thank you all so much for the advice. I guess I`m stuck with the crap plastic chrome and I`ll give polishing the door strips before I make any decisions on those.

Thanks again,
Bill
 
BLUGGA said:
I`ll give polishing the door strips before I make any decisions on those.
Click to expand...

Give some thought to what they really need and what products/processes will best accomplish that. Sometimes the paint on such pieces is more fragile than that on the rest of the vehicle, be careful around their edges where the paint might be thin.
 
As already stated, be careful while polishing the strips and if you do end up having to pull them out while applying heat keep in mind they may not look straight anymore if that concerns you. I pulled mine out to repaint my car but I didn`t put them back on, so I didn`t care and just ripped them out during removal .
 
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