Chrome Polish/Rust Remover

[twadlington]

Hey guys,
Doing some restoration to my 82 GS650G and was wondering if anyone has any recommendations for rust remover/ chrome polish. I did a google search and saw the market is rather over-populated with these products and figured someone around here would have some good insight. Thanks!

 

[Adler]

For rust,
Anything with oxalic acid, or for easy surface rust, just use 000 steelwool and WD-40
To polish,
I used Mothers chrome polish but i bet they all work.

 

[FormerBMWguy]

I use the Turtle Wax chrome polish, but you have to buy the "heavy duty" version of it- the regular stuff is so weak it can't even remove light hazing. The heavy-duty stuff also works great as an aluminum polish. For heavy rust, nothing beats a Brillo pad with some additional dish soap on it and lots of water. Nothing gets rid of pits, obviously, but you can minimize them if you try.

 

[Woodsy]

http://www.californiacustom.com/purple_metal_polish.html

Its good stuff!!!

 

[Guest]

I used turtle wax chrome polish/rust remover with some steel wool and it cleaned up my rusted pipes pretty good and it worked great to get surface rust off the backrest and such.

 

[twadlington]

Thanks guys. Off to the store for some Extra Strength Turtle Wax and some steel wool!

 

[Guest]

use very fine steel wool!

 

[twadlington]

Thanks Sparky. Will do!

 

[mojoguzzi]

For rust,
Anything with oxalic acid, or for easy surface rust, just use 000 steelwool and WD-40
To polish,
I used Mothers chrome polish but i bet they all work.

I have some oxalic acid powder. Think I can just mix it into some chrome polish? Or dilute it in water and use it on a scrubbing pad? My chrome parts are pretty nice but a few of the small braces are thick with rust and that's where the O-A might help.

 

[Motocrossx23]

Bump, I just Nevr-Dull, a product by Eagle One. It was only $5 at the Advance Auto but holy crap! It cleaned it all my chrome like it was brand new.

DEFINITELY recommend it.

 

[kfholler]

I've used Never Dull and a few other products and they all seem to work well. I am wondering if anyone knows of a way to treat the metal after it is polished to keep it that way. I cleaned my carbs a few summers back and was really frustrated by how fast they rusted after I had dipped them in the carb cleaning acid. They looked better on the outside before I cleaned them. Also, does anyone have a tool, or power tool, recommendation to make polishing easier/faster? Bike has a lot of rust on pipes, springs, etc. Thanks! Exicted to be a member. 1982gs650GLZ. Getting it back on the road after 2 yrs of mostly sitting.

 

[Nessism]

I've used Never Dull and a few other products and they all seem to work well. I am wondering if anyone knows of a way to treat the metal after it is polished to keep it that way. I cleaned my carbs a few summers back and was really frustrated by how fast they rusted after I had dipped them in the carb cleaning acid. They looked better on the outside before I cleaned them. Also, does anyone have a tool, or power tool, recommendation to make polishing easier/faster? Bike has a lot of rust on pipes, springs, etc. Thanks! Exicted to be a member. 1982gs650GLZ. Getting it back on the road after 2 yrs of mostly sitting.

Caswell's Plating sells a home zinc plating kit which works great for hardware. Eastwood sells an even cheaper setup. For chrome the only thing you can do is hit it with some wax after you clean it up. Spray wax is easiest if there are lots of nooks and crannies. The rust will come back if you don't work diligently to keep it in check though.

 

[Bladerunner]

S.O.S. soap pads found at any local grocery store near the dish soap are the schiznit when it comes to removing rust from chrome. The pads are steel wool, and the soap (with a small amount of water) embedded in the steel wool acts as a lubricant when rubbing over the chrome. The S.O.S. pads will not scratch the chrome, and you can be quite aggressive with them.