I was a fan of No.7 chrome polish, but its hard to find in the stores; I have No.7 clear coat, white and orange rubbing compounds but can't find the chrome polish anymore.

Instead of that I have been using Eagle Wadding Polish, it comes in a silver can and is full of what looks like old sofa stuffing. The material is saturated with the polish and works like any other; pull out what you need, rub it on and wait for it to dry to a haze. Then rub it off with a polish rag.
Beauty part is it never separates and you don't need a clean rag to put it on with.

 

I used a razor knife to softly scrape something that was baked on hard on my pipes, and wouldn`t come off with Windex. Since then I learned about oven cleaner on WARM pipes (not more than 150*) for this type of scenario. This works well with no scratches on the pipes. Unfortunately, where I used the razor knife there are minute scratches even though I was careful not to press hard when using it. So, will the 0000 steel wool get rid of them, or am I screwed?

 

Same here. It works and it's cheap.

 

I use Nevr-Dull to take any marks off, then usually use wax. I have chrome polish, but it is much easier to spray on Original Bike Spirits Cleaner/Wax, than apply chrome polish, and I don't notice any difference.

 

Try Nevr-dull first. Very gentle, yet effective. I would be real careful with 0000. Maybe test it on the bottom of your pipes. Or your wife's bumper. (J/K)

 

I think most wax's are water based. So each time it's washed it removes whatever wax you applied.
As most have said, chrome wax or regular paint wax is probably close to the same.
As with oil threads, wax is a matter of brand loyalty. They all come off, most with the first rain or wash. So each time I wash a vehicle I re-wax and yes it's a lot of work.
I just use Turtle zip wash followed by Turtle wax and terry cloth buff.

 

Is Windex chrome polish ?

 

I have tried a lot of different chrome polish. All worked some better than others. I still use turtle wax chrome polish. It is just plain low cost and works as good as anything else I have tried.

 

We've used about every chrome polish on the market. We always go right back to Turtle Wax Chrome Polish. I've found some that work almost as good, but never as good. We are judging based on the ability of the polish to remove any and all residue for a perfectly clean finish, in an efficient amount of time and the amount we had to use.

If you are out to remove tough stains that are too much for TW chrome polish, try Maas


We buy both on Amazon.

 

Just last week I used Mcqireds SwirlX scratch remover and a foam pad on my drill and buffed a heat shield back to new in a couple of minutes.