How to really make chrome on wheels, grill, and bumpers really shine

C

Crush

New member
I drive a 2001 Chevrolet Silverado. I would like to get the chrome on my wheels, grill, and bumpers (front and rear) to really shine. How would I go about doing this?



Here is the style of truck I have:



truck.jpg




I think the wheels are chromed (stainless?) steel. The center caps and piece on the grill are (chromed?) plastic. The bumpers are chromed (stainless?) steel.



If it is necessary to find out exactly what each piece is, I would be happy o do that if someone could point me towards a way to find that information out.



What would be the best approach t trying to get these chrome pieces really shining again?



Thanks and again, if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask!
 
I highly doubt they are chromed stainless. Most like just chromed mild steel. sometimes they are just chrome plastic covers that look like they are chrome wheels.



Your best bet is a chemical polish or a chrome polish and some good wax or sealant.
 
Danase said:
I highly doubt they are chromed stainless. Most like just chromed mild steel. sometimes they are just chrome plastic covers that look like they are chrome wheels.



Your best bet is a chemical polish or a chrome polish and some good wax or sealant.
Click to expand...



Anything particular brands to look at/stay away from?



Thanks!
 
Can't think of any dedicated chrome polishes to stay away from, some are just better than others. Mothers and Blue Magic(? something like that) can be found at your local store and should work fine.



Another option is to use #0000 steel wool, found at local superstore in the paint section near the sandpaper. Make sure it is #0000. I love the stuff, some people never use it because it is aggressive and they would rather polish longer to achieve the same result. You decide what is best for your vehicle, if the chrome is in bad shape use the wool, if it just needs a little shine use the polish, or both on different areas.



Both are cheap, so I would get both just to try it out. $4-5 for the polish, $2-3 for the wool.
 
I'm assuming that if I explore the steel wool option, that I would be using it with water or some other type of liquid?
 
I usually just use mothers pre-wax cleaner. It is cheap and readily available. OR



Turtle wax chrome polish, same as above. I have a couple name brand metal polishes, but they don't seems to work any better on chrome.



If they aren't that tarnished, any wax or sealant with cleaners usually does the job.
 
I've had success with NXT metal polysh, though it is still available ATM, it has been discontinued. My only gripe is that it takes time to work with compared to other metal polishing option, which brings me to:



Nevr-Dull. It is just impossibly easy to work with, fairly inexpensive and a little goes a LOOOONG way. I still have hardly made a dent in my tin and my Cutlass is slathered in chrome (plus customer's cars). It cuts light surface oxidation and shines up chrome thats in good shape, plus its available OTC in most auto parts stores and craft shops.
 
I second NXT Metal polysh. Optimum Metal Polish works great too.



I use Vanilla Moose on all my chrome. Love it. It gives chrome just a little more pop than every other chrome cleaner I've used. And it works great on "plastic chrome" as well.
 
just use a decent metal polish, then follow up with blackfire all metal sealant. recently bought this from Pakshak because i love the blackfire paint sealant, and their metal sealant is :up:up

its easy on easy off and SLICK. i like it better than using WOWA's like optiseal,ZCS,upgp because they leave iridescent rainbow hazes and need to be buffed to a shine 24 hours later on chrome anyway. plus BF metal sealant is supposed to have a higher temp rating :cool:

nov22042.jpg


all of that chrome was oxidized cause that bike sat for 3 years since purchased new. even oem tires had dry rot.

flitz and blackfire metal sealant :up
 
dont mind the dremel marks on the chrome, he burnt a few pieces and left dremel holograms on the plastic chrome, before bringing it to me.





oh and someone else mentioned megs UC. ive threw in some UC and m105 before to help the cut on oxidized metal. never used JUST compound tho.
 
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