25 replies to this topic

[herdy]

Might give this a shot with my headlight rings. Might as well get a bit longer out of them :)

[Dusky]

Shiny or dull side on the chrome?

[lewBlew]

Shiny

[tiger99]

I suspect it does not matter which side is used, but I would be interested to know exactly what is happening in the process. Coke, the real one, contains phosphoric acid, also used in certain rust removers and etch primers, and does a good job of cleaning copper coins. Just soak them overnight. However, that did not work, when tried with Pepsi in about 1967. I much later learned that in large parts of Africa, Coke was drunk because it had a soothing effect on the stomach, whereas the locals would not touch Pepsi because it had the opposite effect. Be that as it may, I can see why rubbing Coke on a piece of rusty chrome may do something useful, but can't immediately see why ali foil is needed.

 

Maybe someone could try rubbing with a cloth, or Scotchbrite soaked in Coke, and see if there is any difference? We have already learned something useful here, there may be more...

[some1158]

I've had success removing rust from the chrome bits on my bike with just the foil and plain water - no coke.  So I always assumed that the foil somehow did the trick, but I may be wrong.  Been meaning to try it on the Mini but not got round to it yet

[tiger99]

That is even more intriguing. You could in theory get a thermite reaction between ali foil and dry rust, which would not do your fingers any good at all, but clearly something else is happening. Did it get hot, or even warm?

Edited by tiger99, 28 January 2014 - 01:43 AM.

[Craig89]

As above I have always used aluminum foil and water. When applied the water turns grey and this acts as like a polishing compound

[jakejakejake1]

I think its becasue the ali foil is softer than the chrome, so does not scratch it, but it hard enough to scrape off the rust. Or something along those lines, and as mentioned the acid probably helps too.

[HarrysMini]

lewBlew -  Given that it has now been around 18 months since you did this, how well has it stood up? Have you had to do anything to them since, apart from regular cleaning/polishing obviously?

[lewBlew]

lewBlew -  Given that it has now been around 18 months since you did this, how well has it stood up? Have you had to do anything to them since, apart from regular cleaning/polishing obviously?

 

They were perfect and only needed the odd polish until about December. Unfortunately I lost my garage for a couple of months until recently and all the rain has made the pitting come back in the same places so they need doing again. But it did the job for a long time!

[tiger99]

That is quite a useful life extension for such a simple procedure, although I still don't see why it works. Maybe it is just simple abrasion, rubbing the rust off? Now if there was a simple way of actually renewing the chrome, without toxic chemicals....