38. How To Remove Surface Rust on Chrome
You can use light oil and fine steel wool to remove surface rust from chrome and steel.
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- 00:16 - Bronze or brass wool works the best.
In this short video we’ll learn how to remove surface rust. This will work best on chrome and sometimes on bare steel. If your rust is really bad you may have to get the part sandblasted and re-chromed.
For this job you’ll need some light oil, a chunk of fine steel wool, and a rag.
Simply squirt some light oil on the rust you want to remove. Then scrub it a little bit with a chunk of steel wool and wipe it clean with a rag… and that’s it! Keep in mind that it will quickly rust again if exposed to water, so you’ll want to dry it off well after riding in the rain.
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The reading and experience that I have done, suggests Bronze or Brass wool is a better medium for rust removal. Because the fine particles left behind won’t compound the problem.
I love learning new and cool things!
Thanks!
Thanks, I didn’t know about the bronze/brass wool. I’ve added your tip to the video!
Thanks for making a video for this, you’re awesome. Anyways, I’ve been using WD40 for a while, though the rust spots come back slowly after a while. But that may be because I live in a very most and foggy part of the city. I’ll try it with oil next time.
Do you have any tips on removing oil stains? On the slider tubes of my front forks are all marked with oil and I don’t know how to get rid of it. I’ve tried wire wool but it didn’t work, any suggestions?
Thank you for this! BTW I love your vids, they are easy to follow, well made and darn fun to watch!
There’s a lot of debate about this particular topic on the forums at bikeforums.net. For example at this thread:
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=352411
The point of the folks who do NOT advocate steel wool for this application is that using it can damage the chrome, leaving score marks that can encourage rust. It is also suggested that you can rub the chrome right off, and that what you actually think is chrome in the end is some sort of nickel plating beneath. Shiny but very NOT chrome!
I don’t know what to think. I feel like a bit of very fine brass or bronze wool used with as little pressure as possible would be a good alternative to sandblasting and re-chroming. Worth a shot in any event. I suppose we could all go to our local chrome experts to get the real skinny on this, but for now I’ll take your advice, Alex. Thanks a mil!
mark
@bedbugg: You could try some cleaning solvent or rubbing alcohol to loosen the oil stains.
@mark: Thanks for the link, there’s some good tips there. I’ve used the steel wool technique many times over the years and I’ve never had a problem or seen the steel wool take off chrome. It’s meant to be a quick fix for older bikes… I also never heard of the Oxalic Acid technique but I’m eager to try it!
Hi alex
I never thought of using light oil. I usually use fine sandpaper submurged in water, but it leaves some marks.
I am assuming that the rim needs to be de-greased before riding correct? Or else the brakes would seem useless.
Thanks!
Yes, definitely clean the rim surface before braking. Rubbing alcohol works great for this.
I use SOS pads to clean the chrome on my bicycles and it seems to work great. I apply wax after I clean and dry the chrome. I use a cleaner wax on painted components and frame. .
There’s some really good stuff on the market called Chromax for removing rust and polishing. It’s Bio-Degradeable and non toxic. The stuff actually has a pleasant smell. If your local bike shop doesn’t have it they can order it from J&B Importers. They’ll know who J &B is.
Another popular solution to remove rust from chrome: use a ball of aluminum foil, dip it in some water and rub on the chrome. The rust spots will come off. They say aluminum is harder than the rust and softer than the chrome so it won’t leave scratch marks on the chrome surface. I’ve tried that on my 30 yr old Araya chrome rims and was able to get them nice and shiny again!
I tried the old-school trick with Coca-Cola and aluminum foil, it does an amazing job, but leaves the part sticky. Just have to wash’n'dry it after.
I also tried wet sandpaper earlier, but it all fell into little pieces. Is there some kind of special water-resistant sandpaper that I just don’t know about?
Yes – it’s called Wet/Dry Sandpaper – they sell it at Wal-mart and auto parts stores – it’s designed to be used with water for wet sanding final coats of paint.
When de-rusting vintage bikes, I use WD40 or the like & Reynolds wrap or other Alum foil. You would be shocked how shiny i can get a totally rusted bike in a few minutes. Does take a bunch of alum. foil though. Spritz, wad & foil, and rub. And no little steel wool hairs…
The Aluminum works! All the tips about it above seem to use water or soda pop as a lubricant. But I used light oil instead, as in the steel/brass wool tips, and it works.
I use a brass wire brush and lots of WD-40. A brass brush is 3 or 4 dollars at the hardware. Strips heavy rust off chrome like crazy, but doesn’t scratch. Not for me anyway. I fixed up two 40 year old Schwinns this way.
Can’t find tri flow oil… what else would you suggest?
You can order tri-flow here, but any light oil (like 2-in-1) will work for this job.
ok thanks alot … im trying to rebuild a rusty old ccm bike
I have a road bike with front forks that are steel. The rust is quite bad. What would you suggest I do? Maybe try to sand it down to the metal again and repaint?
Hi Zach,
Unfortunately yes, if the rust is too deep your only option is to sand and re-paint.
For chrome i have used a razorblade and windex to lightly remove the rust tips.
My thinking is to remove as much rust before rubbing otherwise the rust particles will scour the chrome further. For bare steel the wool pad is fine , but i don’t recommend it for chrome. That reminds me of the time a friend tried to clean my dvd with tooth paste . more harm than good.
Rust Teminator has a new aerosol product that worked great on my bike rims. It foams up and fizzles and then you wipe and the rust comes right off. Worked great for me.
A trick I’ve used for years on restoring chrome (back in my hot rod days!) : #0000 Steel wool and car wax. The #0000 Steel wool is the finest grade and does not scratch chrome. The car wax really helps clean off the rust, and adds a layer of protection. This also works on windows or glass… you can get rid of the nastiest waterspots!