Love of the Shiny Bits

I think everyone will agree part of the charm of classic and vintage cars is the extravagance and quality of the chrome detailing. There is little better than seeing your cars shiny bits sparkling in the sun just after being polished; perhaps this is why modern day cars still show off the odd chrome detail here and there, but we all know it is not what it used to be, nothing more than bits of shiny plastic.

UGU on display at the Northam flying 50, 2014

Disclaimer: Please do not attempt the following on "plastic chrome" as I have no idea what the result would be.

I have been very fortunate in UGU, she doesn't have much rust to speak of, and her chrome work still has lots of shine, but there are a few bits that could do with some attention, like the strips that cap the doors at the window line.

As with all things UGU related, I am somewhat reluctant to have a go at fixing her just in case I do it wrong, so when a friend explained to me how to get the best out of your chrome, I filed it in my memory and did little more,  until now.

Land Rovers are not known for their bling, but Leif does have a few bits - headlight trim, windscreen wiper arms, and steering wheel spokes.

They were all a bit tarnished, so I decided to bite the bullet and have a go at cleaning the headlight surrounds, thinking that if I damage them, it is not the end of the world.

With the trims removed I gave them a wash to remove the dirt and grime and left them in the sun to dry whilst I went to the hardware store to buy some superfine steel wool.

Washed, scrubbed and dry; and still looking awful!

My only prior experience with wire wool is a Brillo Pad.

 DO NOT use a Brillo Pad

Good for pots, rubbish for chrome!!

Sitting in the sun on the Verandah at the Tyro Workshop, I gently started rubbing the super fine steel wool over the tarnished headlight trims, in no time at all, the results were clear to see.

Bling vs Ming

So after about an hour I had both trims polished inside and out, and could not believe how well they polished up with absolutely no scuffing or scratching from the steel wool.  So there you have it, how to get your chrome from Ming to Bling for less than $5.

With these rings, I thee wed, haha

You gotta be happy with that, haven't you?

With my trial complete and expectations high, you had better get your sunnies ready for the next time UGU goes for a drive!

UPDATE:  Since my initial posting of this article, I have been advised that if you keep the wool wet, you will get an even better result.  I will try this with UGU and keep you posted. 

You never stop learning.  Thanks G. Abbott