Chrome restore

[DrPhilgood]

What is the best way to restore my chrome parts without having to replace them? Can I sand them down, prime them and spray them with chrome plating like from Home Depot, or is that not going to look good. Im looking for a temporary fix to my chrome until I can afford to buy replacement chrome. Any ideas, thoughts or tried and true procedures would be appreciated. Thanks.

[KiltedBanshees93GT]

Sanding down and respraying it wouldnt look like "true" chrome, and even if it did, you wouldnt be able to clean/polish it the same.
I recently cleaned my cars chrome, and what I found worked best was good old fashioned steel wool. Make sure that you use 0 grade or finer, since the coarser the grade the more visible scratching will be. (home stores sell bags of steel wool in the paint section, the coarseness grade runs like this> 000(finest)-00-0-?-?-?(most coarse, used for scraping pans etc))
What I did was rub the area to be cleaned down with a liquid chrome polish, and while it was still wet, start rubbing the area using light pressure. As the pitting etc is removed, you will feel the SW start to glide more smoothly. Apply more polish if it starts to dry out.
Once the area feels smooth to the touch, let the polish dry and then buff it off. If you have a light scratch pattern on the chrome afterward, you can redo the area with a finer grit, working up to 000.
*Make sure that before you try this on a important/hi-visibility/expensive part you practice with a throwaway/junk part to get the technique. You can scratch your chrome up bad if youre not careful.

I did this to all the chrome on my car, including the wheels, and it kicked butt. the only thing it wasnt able to clear up were pinhole rust spots on my wheels, since they went all the way through the chrome. But it did take off all the surface rust surrounding them, making the pinholes almost invisible.

Good luck

J

[DrPhilgood]

Thanks J, Ill try that out and let you know how it went.