How to brighten your
chrome car rims

Recently, an interested reader, wrote us about his discolored chrome car rims and trims. He is the proud owner of a 1980, 450 Mercedes SL. Wow ! Here'swhat he had to say :

"Hello, I really enjoy the information contained in your website, I have a 1980, 450 Mercedes SL. The vehicle is 23 years old and the side and wheel chrome appear to have a dull finish on them. What could I use to remove this oxidation and make them look like polished again ? I have tried finish valve compound, which does remove some of the oxication, but not to my satisfaction. Any ideas you can offer would be appreciated."

To help on this issue of discolored chrom car rim and trims we put Keith Morris from Eastwood Company to the test. Keith came up with the following recommendation :

Use a small 3" wheel (#13039) w/ mandrel (#13064) and some white rouge compound (#13001) and attach to either an electric drill or a die grinder that spins @ 3000-3600RPM.

Our reader did not waste time and went to the task. A couple of days later he was kind enough to send us his valuable feedback on how the chrome cars rim and trims came out.

"Thank you for the information. It works just fine. The process is slow when the chrome is on the vehicle, and Just make sure you apply duct tape to both sides of the chrome piece in case you slip with the buffer. I tried both the white and red rouge and the white works a bit better. Thanks again, pleased with the results, it even removed small scratches. After I buffed it to a high gloss I applied a clear coating over the chrome and aluminum to protect the finish. Best regards."

Well, this is called hearing it from the horse's mouth !! Thanks for sharing your experience with us !!

Sure, you can use polish and other products to brighten your chrome car rims. You can also use plain old ammonia in getting stubborn stains, water spots and greases off bumpers and other trims. The stuff is cheap and extremely effective.

When your rims and trims are clean and bright, wipe it down to dry and apply a thin coat of paste wax or liquid polish. It will keep the weather off for a considerable time.