The Chrome

Hey everybody,

Sorry if there have been other topics about this (did a search and diddn't see anything)

I was washing my Blazer yesterday, and while I was, I noticed that the chrome on the bumper and side trim (but mostly the bumper) looks like ass. Whats a good way to go about making the chrome look all shiney again? Any products anyone would recommend? Cheers.

mothers crome polish and a very light steel wool. use the steel wool to get top rust off and the mothers to get it shiney again just follow the directions on the polish bottle. Meguires is pretty good too.

believe me or not but.
regular coke(the pop) and a rag works really well as a chrome polish too!

believe me or not but.
regular coke(the pop) and a rag works really well as a chrome polish too!


And to think we drink that stuff!!!

believe me or not but.
regular coke(the pop) and a rag works really well as a chrome polish too!

Yeah your right I compleatly forgot about that. Its also the best thing to remove corrosion from your battery terminals and it cleans carbon deposits off of you spark slugs. makes you wonder whats in that shit doesnt it?

believe me or not but.
regular coke(the pop) and a rag works really well as a chrome polish too!

Thanks for clearing up which one you ment. The other one is way to expensive!!! :lol:

I can see the other coke being way to abraisive ;)

Brasso and a lamb's wool polishing pad on a battery-powered drill works for me. Rub the Brasso on lightly with a soft rag and let it dry. Run the buffing pad in a straight line with light pressure across the chrome. Be prepared, wear sunglasses so you don't blind yourself. :)

whoa, hold on, is it the plastic chrome looking stuff?

whoa, hold on, is it the plastic chrome looking stuff?

Lol. I'm not really sure, whatever it is that is on the bumper......

Can you post a photo of it, I think it is just shiny plastic covered with a plastic membrane.

Can you post a photo of it, I think it is just shiny plastic covered with a plastic membrane.

Either way you can use a mild chome cleaner and a soft rag to clean it up real nice. I would stay away from steel wool unless you have quite a bit of rust.

Either way you can use a mild chome cleaner and a soft rag to clean it up real nice. I would stay away from steel wool unless you have quite a bit of rust.

No, you cannot use steel wool on platic, what the hell is wrong with you.

The plastic also has a clear plastic coating to protect the finish. This will be destroyed if you use steel wool.

If it is in fact the plastic chrome looking stuff on the front..I use windex.
It shines the hell out of it..and pulls off more dirt and grime then I even thought was there.
Oh and I moved the sticker LT :p

Can you post a photo of it, I think it is just shiny plastic covered with a plastic membrane.

I will post a pic as soon as the Camera batteries are done recharging. The more I think about it though, the more I think it is plactic.

I have spent hours looking at my Blazer and I am about 95% sure there is no real chrome on any part of it. That strip you guys are talking about, I had to replace mine on the back bumper just above the black trim. It is indeed plastic and it runs all the way around my truck. Mine just pulls off so steel wool would do more than just damage the finish.

I have spent hours looking at my Blazer and I am about 95% sure there is no real chrome on any part of it. That strip you guys are talking about, I had to replace mine on the back bumper just above the black trim. It is indeed plastic and it runs all the way around my truck. Mine just pulls off so steel wool would do more than just damage the finish.

You will be my hero if you can tell me how I can get more of that plastic chrome for my truck.

I have spent hours looking at my Blazer and I am about 95% sure there is no real chrome on any part of it. That strip you guys are talking about, I had to replace mine on the back bumper just above the black trim. It is indeed plastic and it runs all the way around my truck. Mine just pulls off so steel wool would do more than just damage the finish.

I dont have any on my back bumper. This is what I am talking about,

http://img237.imageshack.us/img237/236/20050731image00032nx.th.jpg (http://img237.imageshack.us/my.php?image=20050731image00032nx.jpg)

It looks ok in the picture, but up close is a different story.

This I'm pretty sure ISN'T chrome,

http://img237.imageshack.us/img237/9959/20050731image00040re.th.jpg (http://img237.imageshack.us/my.php?image=20050731image00040re.jpg)

I would be careful still, some of the chrome on the bumber is coated as well.

Yeah i thought he was talking about real chrome not plastic. One way to find out if its plastic or steel is lightly hit it with something like a 6 inch socket extension and see if the sound if one you would hear from metal or plastic. But be carfull because you may end up damaging it more if you hit it too hard.

or you can tap it with your fingernail.

I don't recommend hitting anything.

Yeah sorry for the misunderstanding guys.

That picture is about like mine, that stuff is plastic. Its not on the back bumper its on the sides near my back bumper, behind the wheel well. I got the plastic stip not in a piece but the whole thing black part and all from a junk yard. I had to paint it black before I put it on though. I changed it out because that "chrome" was peeling off and looked like crap. Then again my Blazer is a 1995 and yours may be newer and they may have used real chrome for the newer Blazers.

well mines an 89 and the bupers are 100% steel and thats the only chrome on it except the metal door handles so I didnt even think about it being newer and having plastic chrome when I put the first post on

No, you cannot use steel wool on platic, what the hell is wrong with you.

The plastic also has a clear plastic coating to protect the finish. This will be destroyed if you use steel wool.


Take a deep breath LT and let'em drop back down into your shorts.

I never suggested using steel wool - it was posted earlier. Any quality chome cleaner will clean most plastic "chome" strips as well - I've done it for years. Just be careful that it doesn't have a clear plastic film over it. If you see small black pitting in the "chrome" it's a pretty good bet that there is no plastic film since that would have protected it from the black pitting in the first place.

Steel wool should only be used on real metal and real chrome and only if it's very rusty. I've had great luck using a chrome cleaner, soft rag and lots of elbow grease to shine up my chrome. I'd stay away from the steel wool - if it's bad enough to need it you'll need to rechome to get the results you want.