Chrome Cleaning

[Fireman]

Wanted to pass on a simple and environmentally friendly tip I got the other day for cleaning chrome.

Get a piece of tinfoil and scrunch it up, shiny side out, and a little white vinegar in a bowl. Dip the foil in the vinegar and rub the rusty dirty surface of the chrome, GENTLY, you do not need to apply force here.

Wash with soap and water and VIOLA! Beautiful.

I used this on the mufflers on my GS850 today, and was amazed at the ease of how it works. Just dont ask me about the chemistry. Apparently you can also use a little baking soda in the vinegar if things are extra ugly.

 

[dr_fosg8]

Yep, it works pretty well. I have even just used water on the foil and it will work too. I imagine the vinegar does a better job to help chemically remove the rust also.

 

[Nessism]

Aluminum foil will scratch the chrome if you rub hard. And vinegar is acid.

I recommend oxalic acid for cleaning chrome. There are some threads around that detail the process.

 

[JEEPRUSTY]

cleaning chrome with oxalic acid is simply idotic.
To do so is to strip the chrome.

It is best to use an abrasive polish rather than resort to soemthing that etches stainless steel and disolves corneas and finger nails on contact.

Inexplicable the suggection of such a harsh and incredibly poisonous substance.

 

[Nessism]

cleaning chrome with oxalic acid is simply idotic.
To do so is to strip the chrome.

It is best to use an abrasive polish rather than resort to soemthing that etches stainless steel and disolves corneas and finger nails on contact.

Inexplicable the suggection of such a harsh and incredibly poisonous substance.

Oxalic acid is great stuff. You obviously have never used it.

Oxalic acid is in deck cleaner. You can spray it on your rear deck and hose it off right on top of your plants and it won't hurt a thing.

The automotive industry uses oxalic acid on brand new cars after transporting them over the rail road - it eats off the metalic rail dust. If major OE car companies use the stuff you can be sure it won't hurt the finish.

 

[Adler]

cleaning chrome with oxalic acid is simply idotic.
To do so is to strip the chrome.

It is best to use an abrasive polish rather than resort to soemthing that etches stainless steel and disolves corneas and finger nails on contact.

Inexplicable the suggection of such a harsh and incredibly poisonous substance.

Oxalic acid is great stuff. You obviously have never used it.

Oxalic acid is in deck cleaner. You can spray it on your rear deck and hose it off right on top of your plants and it won't hurt a thing.

The automotive industry uses oxalic acid on brand new cars after transporting them over the rail road - it eats off the metalic rail dust. If major OE car companies use the stuff you can be sure it won't hurt the finish.

I have heard only good things about oxalic acid and rust... I will be trying it pretty soon, but if you have something to back your comments, I'd love to heard it.

 

[Nessism]

I have heard only good things about oxalic acid and rust... I will be trying it pretty soon, but if you have something to back your comments, I'd love to heard it.

I restored an old Schwin bicycle using oxalic acid to remove the rust. Dunked the parts into the sauce paint and all and the paint wasn't harmed and the rust was removed. Great stuff.

 

[chuck hahn]

ED isnt that the same stuff as wood bleach? I have heard of the bleach before. Whats the mix ratio of the powder per gallon of water..I got a lot of stuff i would also like to soak. And have you ever used it on aluminum?? I know some acids will turn aluminum a dark grey.

 

[Nessism]

ED isnt that the same stuff as wood bleach? I have heard of the bleach before. Whats the mix ratio of the powder per gallon of water..I got a lot of stuff i would also like to soak. And have you ever used it on aluminum?? I know some acids will turn aluminum a dark grey.

Hi Chuck,

I don't rightly remember the concentration to use, but found this thread with some info. I used more concentration than this recommendation but I'd go easy at first.

http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?t=172565

 

[ddaniels]

I've always had good success with Turtle Wax chrome polish and some 0000 steel wool.

 

[JEEPRUSTY]

well I get mine at the local pharmacy. It is prolly a pure crystalized form.
I am undeterred it si still poisonous. It is absorbed through skin and generally buggers you up.

 

[GS ace]

I've always used Mothers and 000 steel wool on chrome rims and fenders with great results. You don't have to bear down on it and is easy to wipe off.

 

[GS ace]

JC, it leaves very very little, since the cleaner's wetness pretty much keeps the shake bound to the wad of wool. What is left behind is easily wiped off, because it's stuck and not going everywhere as if were used dry.

I made an oops and said that I use 000. It's 0000.

 

[waterman]

Aluminum foil will scratch the chrome if you rub hard. And vinegar is acid.

I recommend oxalic acid for cleaning chrome. There are some threads around that detail the process.

Vinegar is a 5% solution of Acetic acid. Acetic acid is considered a weak acid. Oxalic acid is 3000 times stronger than Acetic acid and considered a strong acid. I have personally drank acetic acid and have used it to clean with. I would not want to work with oxalic acid without gloves and definitely outside.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxalic_acid

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acetic_acid

I am sure both of these will remove corrosion, obviously the oxalic will react quicker but remember that it is not any safer. Please, be safe when using cleaners. Personally, I will stick with evapo rust and other commercial products or there primary constituents if available.

 

[Adler]

Here are some of my results from using wd-40 and tin foil...

Note that those are different sides of the exhaust but they were corroded more or less the same.

There were a few spots that wouldn't come off, so I plan on attacking them with some barkeepers friend (OA) this summer.

 

[waterman]

Waterman,

First off, if you're not comfortable with use ANY product or process, don't do it. Nobody will try to talk you into it, but if you do decide to try something, you'll have a pretty good idea how to do it and some of the precautions you should follow.

If you're worried about oxalic acid (OA), remember, you can make it as weak as you like by varying how much you mix in water. Still need precautions but like many things, the weaker the mix, the lower the risk.

FYI. Someone else had mentioned ZUD, which is a kind of paste containing OA. It's a commercial product and I'm considering trying it for items that aren't practical to dip.

- JC

I don't want to start an argument about oxalic acid, I just wanted to supply some information to others that oxalic acid isn't something to be nonchalant about. Sometimes, people get into too much haste and forget to use simple precautions when using strong chemicals.

Another point to consider is that most people think if a little is enough, more has to be better. This fallacy can easily result in injury if using unfamiliar chemicals in unconventional methods.

One more minor point, very dilute strong acids can still react violently, while weak acid don't tend to react violently even at higher concentrations. Strength in acids refers to how much of the chemical ionizes in solution. Higher strength in general denotes higher reactivity.

I want people here to be cautious and not get injured from working on parts. If I am coming across as condescending, please ignore, that is not my intent. I just want people to know the risks. I think we all want to stay safe.

 

[waterman]

Waterman,

Hope I didn't come off as arguing. My comments were more intended to give the advice: "if someone isn't comfortable, don't let me or anyone push you into something you don't want to do, and if you're hesitant you can easily go with a weaker solution"

I figured you knew as much by the way you wrote, but in my efforts to be MORE clear so it wouldn't be misunderstood, I apparently was LESS clear!

You make good points, I don't think they're argumentative at all. I'm glad you added them to this thread. You never know when a thread may be the FIRST one a member reads about OA and it's never a mistake to include warnings or direction to safety data

BTW, acetic acid was the next experiment if we weren't satisfied with OA. We were going to start with bottles of vinegar from Walmart and then work to making our own solution from powdered chems. Vinegar has LOTS of good uses.

- John

I think I read more into it than was there. I think we are trying to say the same thing, be safe about it.

I think vinegar will be too weak to get decent results with. You may try some phosphoric acid, diluted of course, it should clean up the rust and give a good base to paint from. Some have used Coke (or Pepsi) since it contains a fair amount of phosphoric acid. Maybe there is a purpose for Diet Coke after all...