What is everyone doing to protect their chrome from rust and corrosion?

 

Blue Magic. It's the best product on the market for chrome!

 

Thank God I dont have a corrosion issue out here cuz, I'd rather ride than clean

 

Thanks, I certainly pick some up!

 

I like the S100 products.

 

I'm gonna stir things up a bit here.

Products designed to polish aluminum and other soft metals often have abrasives in them. Simi-chrome, Blue Magic, and similar products are among them. Most of 'em were originally designed to polish things such as dies for toolmakers. They work fantastic on aluminum, brass, and copper, too. But the long term use of these abrasive products on chrome plating will eventually wear through the chrome. Squeeze some between your fingers and rub 'em together. You'll feel the abrasive particles.

If'n you've read some of my posts you might've noticed I'm like an ol' dog worryin' a bone; I tend to get a bike and keep it for 10 to 20 years. I've used the Simi-chrome, and later Blue Magic, on all of 'em. And worn through the chrome on some of the parts. It's one of the reasons I don't like chrome; it's a finish that will eventually fail, if whatever it's on is used. (It's also why I like stainless steel, it ain't a finish, but can be polished to a near-mirror finish.)

So I don't use these products on my chrome any longer, unless the chrome is severely tarnished, has rust bleeding through, or other surface blemishes. I use a polish made specifically for chrome, with no abrasives added. Turtle Wax used to make one, and Dupont did, too. I find 'em in an auto parts store, or a body shop supply joint.

Something else that works on good chrome is plain ol' window cleaner. In fact, if the chrome is in good shape, and simply needs cleaning, it works as well as anything. It ain't gonna remove rust stains, etc., though.

Once you get your chrome cleaned and shinin' to your likin', then start cleaning your bike with one of the new products, such as S100, or better (better = cheaper) a similar product made by Suzuki. It seems to actually leave a protective coating on the bike, and you'll go longer before having to stop riding and wash the dern thing. It works great on chrome, aluminum, paint, windshield, and tires. Magic stuff, y'know?

Some afterthoughts that explain a lot: Chrome is porous. That's why rust can bleed through, especially on cheaply applied chrome. A good chrome is often labeled "triple chrome plated." It ain't. What it is, is a part polished to perfection, then copper plated, then nickel plated, then finally chromed. The nickel plating gives a good chrome job that deep lustrous look. A cheap chrome job will either skimp or even skip some of these steps, especially that perfect polish job, as that is what eats up time and money. Then if you just flash a thin chrome layer on the base metal, you have a nice 'n' shiny piece of junk.

Just my thoughts, and hope I ain't bored some of you ol' salts.

Edit: Just looked at my bottle of Blue Magic. It says on the bottle it ain't abrasive. Sorry 'bout that!

 

Thought I'd better stick this here and bump this up as well as the correction in my edited post: Just looked at my bottle of Blue Magic. It says on the bottle it ain't abrasive. Sorry 'bout that!

 

Pococj, why would a chrome hater have Blue Magic in the garage?

I use it because it contains solvent based silicone, and I have never found it to be abrasive.

 

Skip,

I'm wondering what time of the day the solar eclipse is happening. We need to mark this day!

SWB,

Blue Magic an S100 are the best. S100 is great for those spoked wheels, spray it on, hose it off. Never have to touch the wheels and you're saving time too.

Mac

 

LOL, well there is a wee bit of chrome on my bike! The edge of the front rim, the heat shields over the pipes, the dash board, the ignition switch, the derby cover, primary inspection cover, ignition pickup cover, headlight bucket, and the mirrors.

But the plan is to replace at least the mirror stems with some stainless that I can bend to the shape I want. And eventually I'll replace the front end with a leaf spring girder and a mag-type wheel. Plus the chrome is starting to look ma bit ratty on the dash & ignition, so they'll get bead blasted and painted.

Yeah, I went out to the shop and read the label on the Magic. It states it is non-abrasive.