Reality of chrome cleaning/ restoration?

completely shot. will need to refinish, which is a giant bitch for it not to look pretty bad.

I’ve got 8 functional bicycles and another 3 or 4:waiting for attention, only 2 are less than 40 years old, oldest is 1938/9.

It really doesn’t look too bad. I don’t see much that is pitted or flaking. So it’s likely surface rust and salvageable.

Here’s my process.

A Brass wire wheel on a Dremel or grinder/drill will get most of it off.

Smaller patches and crevasses use aluminum foil wadded up or twisted to point with water as a lube. For a fine point wrap the foil around a BBQ skewer or chopstick to firm up the point. Tedious but works well.

If you have a buffing wheel, a little Zam and a buff does wonders too. As does a tumbler with steel shot for smaller pieces. Tossed this in just in case, but most people don’t have ready access. These are actually the best methods.

Touch ups Testors model paint or nail polish work well.

When rust is cleaned up, metal polish on the chrome, color corrector automobile polish for painted areas then a good automobile wax, the ceramic spray ons are easy and work well.

Repeat waxing every 2-3 months after to preserve.

You’d be surprised how resilient old chrome can be. The older the better.