Chrome Rusting

[GSUwhiskers]

Anybody find an effective, non-scratch way to take rust off of chrome parts such as the front forks on a trike? Trying to polish up my project one part at a time.

[El Camexican]

Rust on chrome is indicative of a hole in the chrome that is exposing the steel under it which is prone to rusting very quickly when exposed to oxygen. The reason it rusts so easily is because of the processes used to clean the steel in preparation of the chroming. It is basically dry cold rolled steel which will rust when exposed to any amount of humidity.

Besides the small red spot you can see on the chrome the steel is rusting under the chrome and so what you see is only a portion of what is under the chrome and spreading, or getting ready to.

In the case of a set of forks that isn’t too far gone you can save them by rubbing them with extra fine steel wool and then protecting them with occasional wipes of oil, or a good metal polish. However, if the forks have high spots in the area that the seals pass over you need to knock them down to prevent damaging the seals. This would take some sanding with 2000# grit sand paper lubricated with light oil. It will dull the finish, but unless you have a show trike it shouldn’t be too noticeable. Remember to sand crossways and not in the direction that the forks move.

[Bren_downe]

I've used SOS pads on chrome rims before. Worked great! Use plenty of water.

[jb2wheels]

I've seen, but never tried, aluminum foil and water.

[El Camexican]

I've used SOS pads on chrome rims before. Worked great! Use plenty of water.

Me too! On my Cragar SS wheels. Works great on the tires too! Forgot all about that.