The hubcaps are being cleaned. There's a bit of rust and a dull, dingy look to them.
I took a hubcap and split the sides with blue tape.
The left side will be cleaned with Turtle Wax Crome Cleaner; the right side with Duro Aluminum jelly.
Both sides will be cleaned with an old cloth: a separate cloth for each side re

The Aluminum jelly was used first on the right side.
Pictures below

 

Nothing more rewarding than comparing cleaned chome to uncleaned. Particularly old Jaguar parts that haven't been cleaned in 20 years

 

Another method of removing light rust from chromed pieces is using aluminum foil and Coca Cola. This method was recommended to me and I tried it on a few pieces of chrome. The results were quite good and the foil didn't scratch the chrome. I used diet Coke because it was less sticky.

 

Here's the next set of pics.
The first pic is of the the second half of the first hubcap.
( The second pic is the side by side comparison. )

The third pic is the first side of the second hubcap.
I saw a difference between the two compounds utilized...

Will try the coke and aluminum foil.
Sounds fun!

 

Did give it a go with the DIET Coke and aluminum foil.
Yes, it does remove the built on rust rather well!


The foil tends to clump up into a crinkly ball and becomes difficult to work with.
But the combination does indeed remove the rust.
Not sure about a better shine than royal jelly or turtle wax, though.
But the combination does seem to better at removing built-up rust.


MIGHT consider dunking a hubcap in Diet coke and letting it set overnight to see what happens....
Concerned that such a duration in the liquid might eat away at the chrome.

 

anyone remember a product called "BRASSO" ?

in the 1960's BRASSO was what we used to polish chrome parts in our cars.

I think 3M bought the formula because I recently bought a 3M automotive polishing cream and it smells exactly like BRASSO. I used it in my S type's chrome and it made it like new.

 

I use Wurth metal polish and 0000 steel wool. Pretty good for getting off rust and accumulated crud.


I remember BRASSO from my days in the military polishing brass for my uniform. I still have some and clearly remember the smell.

 

Showing your age now, Jose

Yes, I remember using brasso. How could I forget?-getting drafted in the Army for 2 yrs National Service!

They also made one called "Silvo" which always reminds me of funny man Phil Silvers. Interestingly I believe Sgt Bilko died penniless. Tragic.

Sorry for raving on.

 

redtriangle:

who me? haha! check the chrome in my S type after the 3M-BRASSO polish

 

We still have Brasso easily available here or am I showing my age too.

I remember the wad of stuff and black fingers !!!

 

Here's the side-by-side of the turtle wax and aluminum jelly AFTER the tape is removed.

Both did well, in my opinion, but the Turtle wax was just a smidgen better.

The last picture is one of the three "holding pegs" where the hubcap is placed.

How does one remove a hubcap here without gouging a dig into the paint on the rim?

 

And here are pictures of the diet coke and aluminum foil ( Right side of hubcap only )
Yes, the combination does indeed remove the rust well!
But it takes a bit more effort , but that may be due to the rust accumulation...

 

A caveat regarding chrome and polishes: chrome plating is very thin and aggressive polishes will wear away the chrome. If the chrome is in bad shape anyway then you haven't much to lose. But if your chrome is in good shape, the best thing is not to use a polish at all, but a wax. A decent cleaner wax will be much more gentle in cleaning and will leave a protective coat. If your chrome is new, then a non-abrasive carnauba wax is best. Polish should be used very sparingly in most cases and preferably, not at all. If you read the label for most polishes you will find a warning not to use it on chrome.
And the difference between Brasso and Silvo is huge - the former is a very aggressive polish, the latter much less so. The very best metal polish I have found is Autosol, a German product. It leaves a mirror finish on stainless steel, aluminum, etc., but is definitely not for chrome for the reasons stated above.

 

"Mother's" also makes a chrome polish but I wasn't happy with it.

 

you wrap a rope or cord around the hubcap and pull it. Back in the 1950's / 1960's they used to sell a nylon rope with two handles for that purpose. I think Oldsmobiles, Buicks, and Pontiacs used to have a two-handle hubcap puller cord in their jack kit. I remember my father's Oldsmobile 88 had one.

something like the image below but with two handles.

 

Yet another example of why this forum is GOLD!
A little bit of knowledge goes between the ears with every reply!

 

Hi Guys,

An interesting post to follow. A lot of useful information, but it would seem there is no overall "best" Chrome cleaner out there-I was hoping for a definitive answer!
I haven't tried the "coke & foil" method yet, but will give that a go.
Some excellent words of wisdom regarding new Chrome-one fine day I might actually get my Chrome pieces back from the re-chromers, and will use just wax as advised.
I can't afford to replace all the bonnet trim and the side trims, although they do have lots of minor marks on them. I think some of these are polished Stainless Steel, as opposed to Chrome plated, and if so, what do folks consider the best method of cleaning them?. I'm currently using "Autosol" paste, which seems to be okay.

Regards, Richard

 

"I was hoping for a definitive answer!"
---
I use Wurth metal polish and OOOO steel wool, and have not found anything more effective. However the tinfoil discussion above got me interested, and I found the description below on using tin foil. So I will probably try that sometime, but I still can't imagine it will work better than the Wurth metal polish.


From the Web:
Rub a dub dub - A simple solution
A simple and inexpensive way to remove rust from and polish chrome surfaces by hand is to rub it with aluminum foil dipped in water. This process yields two advantages. First, since the aluminum foil is softer than chrome, it will not scratch the surface. And second, a by product of the process produces a fine metal polishing compound that smoothes the chrome surface to a bright shine.
Geek Stuff - Oxides are the key
Cleaning rust is basically oxidized metal or another words metal that has taken on extra oxygen atoms. As heat is generated by the friction of rubbing the aluminum foil on the chrome, a portion of the aluminum will oxidize to produce aluminum oxide. Aluminum has a higher reduction potential (i.e a tendency take on electrons and in the process reduce or break itself down) than the chrome, and will therefore leech oxygen atoms away from any rust on the chrome surface which changes the chemical properties of the rust and breaks it down.Polishing aluminum oxide is harder than steel, and the microscopic grains of aluminum oxide produced during the cleaning process creates a fine metal polishing compound which, mixed with the water you added, creates a paste that smoothes and polishes the chrome surface.

In English - How it works
A common way to clean a rusted chrome surface such as a fender is to use a fine steel wool. However, when you use this method you have to use a lot of elbow grease and you still end up with a slightly dull surface with some amount of scratching not to mention the messy 'dust' left over from the steel wool. That's because you are physically scraping off the rust.
When you use the aluminum foil method you are dissolving the rust chemically so you don't need to rub nearly as hard and since the aluminum foil is softer than the chrome, you are left with few if any scratches. This method also allows you to get the rust out of some minor pitting without having to dig into the surface. The aluminum oxide that is created by friction when you rub the surface of the chrome leeches the rust away and when combined with the water you added creates it's own polishing compound so you end up with a clean, smooth, shiny surface.

 

use Wright's Brass household polish it works fine for Stainless Steel. It says so in the back of the container.

 

Truth.

Don't think I'm inactive on this forum just because I'm not commenting. I'm listening to the sages