# Polishing scratched chrome....



## SJ_BIKER (Sep 17, 2012)

So i good friend of mine asked me to roll his chrome balloon fenders the other day....someone recently sanded the chrome to get rust off even though no sanding was necessary in my opinion....needless to say i rolled his fenders and most of the major damage dents and dings wise was rolled smooth but the sand paper scratches  remained....so the fenders have a haze....have any of of you fine bicycle people have luck polishing that stuff out with out having to rechrome......for the original patina look with out them nasty scratches....if so please share....


----------



## Boris (Sep 17, 2012)

I saved this in my restoration tips file. I'm sorry but I didn't write down who the tip came from, so I can't give them the credit they deserve. I have not used the method described in the following, so I cannot vouch for it. Attempt at your own risk.

POLISHING SCUFFED CHROME

I figured out a process that worked. I now have a mirror finish back on my chain guard. Here's what I did (lots of elbow grease required).

First, I wet-sanded the entire chainguard with 600 grit sandpaper so that the finish would be consistent.

Second, with a microfiber cloth I rubbed it out with a polishing compound I have for polishing stainless steel watch cases and watch crystals (yes... I'm a watch geek who probably has more watches than most people have socks). It's called Crystal Clear, but since probably nobody other than me has it, skip to the next step.

Third, I rubbed it out again with a microfiber cloth and GT88 Scratch Remover.

The last step was to rub it out with a 6000 grit polishing cloth called a "Detail Master DM 9007 Micro-mesh Abrasive Cloth" (picked it up a hobby shop - normally used for polishing model paint). This final step put a perfect sheen on the polished chrome.

At this point it's absolutely impossible to tell that there were ever any scratches that didn't belong


----------



## SirMike1983 (Sep 18, 2012)

What I like on decent, restorable chrome is a series of polishes from stronger to milder, all buffed with a soft cloth. I start with an automotive scratch remover, since they are geared specifically for scratch removal involving hard paints/clear coat, and chrome is pretty hard stuff. I'll work that in and buff until the scratches improve. Then I move to a finer polish, say something like Simichrome. It's expensive stuff, but it is my clear favorite for plated metal. Again, apply per the instructions on the tube and buff. If you have an intermediate polish between the two levels, you can use that in between- just be aware you're removing material all the time and to work gradually. If you have not tried Simichrome, it's worth the money to at least give it a shot. It's popular in the motorcycle and other restoration fields for a good reason- it strikes a nice balance for shining up chrome. 

The key is to work gradually and check often in buffing. You can always apply more and keep going. Removing too little in a pass is much better than removing too much.


----------



## BrentP (Oct 2, 2012)

Dave Marko said:


> I saved this in my restoration tips file. I'm sorry but I didn't write down who the tip came from, so I can't give them the credit they deserve. I have not used the method described in the following, so I cannot vouch for it. Attempt at your own risk.
> 
> POLISHING SCUFFED CHROME
> 
> ...




That would be my original post, after my experience getting the scratches out of my Spaceliner chain guard.

Here are the before and after pictures using the technique above.  Hope you can tell which is which


----------

