Wax For Chrome

[CHRIS]

I HAVE JUST HAD NEW CHROMED PARTS ( HANDLEBARS AND SKID PLATE ) INSTALLED ON MY BIKE,DOES ANYONE KNOW
ANY PRODUCT THAT WILL PROTECT THE CHRONE FROM PITTING
AND RUSTING, I WILL BE KEEPING IT IN A DRY AREA.
THANKS

[mrdouble]

I don't know about any of that but i am wondering.. what was your experience of rechroming like,about how much was it and did it turn out as well as you expected?

[CHRIS]

I BOUGHT THE PART RE-CHROMED---WHOEVER DID IT.
DID A GREAT JOB (EVEN MY LOCAL DEALER ALMOST COULD'T
TELL) I KNOW ITS NOT CHEAP---ALSO FOR SOMEONE WHO
WANTES TO RE-CHROME SOMETHING-(NOT ENGINE OR EXHAUST) THERE IS A NEW PAINT PROCESS-THAT LOOKS AND
WEAR LIKE PLATING---THEY TELL ME

[racerx]

Originally Posted by CHRIS

ALSO FOR SOMEONE WHO
WANTES TO RE-CHROME SOMETHING-(NOT ENGINE OR EXHAUST) THERE IS A NEW PAINT PROCESS-THAT LOOKS AND
WEAR LIKE PLATING---THEY TELL ME

File that one along with other evergreens such as the "100 mpg fuel saving device", "never have to change oil again", "million-mile engine oil additive" etc. If even 25% of the claims made for "chrome lookalike at a fraction of the cost" products were true, we'd all be rich by now...collecting money the manufacturers would be paying us to take their products. Some of these coatings can produce a nice look. I've seen paints and powdercoat that looked like dull aluminum and that's cool if it's what you want. The bottom line remains that "the only substitute for chrome is chrome".

Hell, it's tough enough just getting decent quality chrome plating anymore. As for price, fuggedboudit ERISA compliance has made it a dying & expensive art. Many shops have elminated the copper and that's bad news. High quality triple-chrome is worth its price, though.

Okay, rant over... Any non-abrasive paste wax should be fine. Avoid "cleaner wax", it contains abrasives to remove surface oxidation from automotive paint. Meguiars, Zymol and Mothers all sell quality, high-carnauba-content, paste waxes and a little goes a long way. If you're really paranoid, wax the chrome monthly; that's enough to keep chrome from pitting even here in the heart of the rust belt. For extended storage, apply a heavy coat of paste wax and leave the excess until you're ready to put the bike back on the road.

[CHRIS]

THANKS RACERX FOR YOUR HELP ON KEEPING THE CHROME IN GOOD SHAPE
YOU MADE GOOD POINTS ON THE PAINTED CHROME-WHICH LOOKED PRETTY GOOD TO ME(IF SOMEONE WHO CAN'T FIND OR WANT
TO PAY THE PRICE FOR SOMETHING TO BE RE-CHROMED)
HECK, I'M IN A TOWN WHERE MOST SMALL SHOP DO WORK FOR
HARLEY-THERE PLANT IS IN YORK-EVEN CHROME PLATING SHOPS WON'T TOUCH STUFF THAT NEEDS TO BE REPLATED,
SO IF ANY OF YOU FIND ONE -KEEP THEM ON YOUR SPEED DIAL

[Darthvader]

Never put anything over chrome that will clog the pours. It will derteriorate from inside out. Most chrome rusts from the inside out. Keep it clean with windex or something don't seal the moisture in. Keep the goo off the chrome. Ask any metalergist or materials engineer.

[Long Crapper]

If you see any rust starting anywhere you can always remove the part thats beginning to rust and do this>> Rust Removal Tip - Video It works great. Kroger food stores carry the Arm & Hammer Washing Soda.

[swanni06]

sweet vid man.

[XSIVE]

I have always used WD-40 on my Chrome. It removes rust too if the rust is not too bad. Have used windex before too. I have never used chrome paste wax.

[racerx]

Never put anything over chrome that will clog the pours. It will derteriorate from inside out. Most chrome rusts from the inside out. Keep it clean with windex or something don't seal the moisture in. Keep the goo off the chrome. Ask any metalergist or materials engineer.

No offense, but I disagree with those assertions, as well-intentioned as they may be. Chrome is so widely misdunderstood that it borders on black art.

First off, at the microscopic level, chrome plating resembles roof shingles. That is, overlapping scales of metal plating. First, there's a layer of copper (some platers have stopped using copper because of the expense). Next is a layer of nickel, that's most of the substance of a plating job. Nickel has a yellowish look until submerged in chromic acid. Hexavalent chromium is almost clear, it's the interaction with the underlying nickel you're seeing and that most people erroneously believe to be the chrome. The whole system forms what appears to be a continuous, impervious, surface. In reality, it isn't. Once you see red rust, the layers have all been penetrated right down to the base steel and the damage has been done. At that point, the best you can hope for is to halt the rust from progressing any further. Frequently, the rust will spread beneath the copper and eventually one of those dreaded "rust raspberries" will erupt through the plating.

Over the past four decades, we've successfully stored cars & bikes with a heavy application of non-cleaner-type carnauba wax applied to all of the chrome pieces - leaving the excess in place. In the spring, the haze gets polished away and the chrome is always just as it was prior to winter storage. This also works on cars that see road salt. Grease & cosmoline are highly effective, too. They're very messy. The wax or petroleum coating seals the non-continous "plates" or "scales", keeping oxygen out. Without oxygen, there's no oxidation...a.k.a. "rust".