What to use on chromed plastic trim?

[ShinyChevy]

I need a cleaner/polish to use on the chromed plastic grill and other trim on my wife's FX 35.




Is regular Meg's chrome polish OK, or would it be too aggressive?

Recomendations?

[gsaintchar]

Re: What to use on chromed plastic trim?

I use cleaner wax, then followed by Ultimate Wax. Remember, these are just painted plastic, you need to protect them as you would paint. I also use this method on my wheels, which btw, are the same painted plastic covers.

[ShinyChevy]

Re: What to use on chromed plastic trim?

Treat 'em like paint. Good idea, I like it!

Anyone know how these parts are made? Are they really chrome plated or something else?

[Evan.J]

Re: What to use on chromed plastic trim?

Not real chrome at all is just a paint like material. Very thin will flake if its cracked or old

[Detailing by M]

I'm doing an 08 right now.
What year is yours?
The chrome on this ine was dirty and as I'm polishing the paint I'm getting the trim also.
After I dress the rubber trim I'll inspect and use a little M205 if I missed any spots with my polisher

[Detailing by M]

And it is Chome and not paint.
Chrome is Chrome, what is under it diesn't matter.
Some Chrome is thicker then others.
Your not going to damage it at all.
Your bigger concern should be not getting any compound/polish on the rubber trim. Hard to remove in some cases.
Also you can use any cleaner wax.

[Murr1525]

Re: What to use on chromed plastic trim?

Being so close to paint, and esp if already in good shape, treating like paint is usually easier, with a cleaner/wax, or paint cleaner and wax, etc, as you are doing the rest of the car.

[Detailing by M]

Re: What to use on chromed plastic trim?

Not real chrome at all

So it's not nickel plated plastic?

is just a paint like material

... and it's not paint? JUST something like paint? So what is it? Cardboard? Wood? Ceramic? Concrete?

It's chrome plated plastic.... period

I'm tired of this statement that chrome plated plastic isn't chrome.
Chroming is the process of chrome PLATING, called chroming.
You can chrome metal OR PLASTIC.
The chrome part is the top layer.
What's under it doesn't matter.

[Evan.J]

Re: What to use on chromed plastic trim?

So it's not nickel plated plastic?


... and it's not paint? JUST something like paint? So what is it? Cardboard? Wood? Ceramic? Concrete?

It's chrome plated plastic.... period

I'm tired of this statement that chrome plated plastic isn't chrome.
Chroming is the process of chrome PLATING, called chroming.
You can chrome metal OR PLASTIC.
The chrome part is the top layer.
What's under it doesn't matter.

No need to get all fired up about geez. A simple correction would have been fine.

[Detailing by M]

Re: What to use on chromed plastic trim?

not mad just tired of this statment that just isn't true.

Here's a random video of Chrome plated plastic

http://youtu.be/1TW_36S_aJ0

[Michael Stoops]

Re: What to use on chromed plastic trim?

When dealing with chrome plated plastics, assuming we're talking about factory OEM parts, you can often just use the same things you'd use on the paint. In fact, when dealing with fairly large areas like chrome grilles, you can often just buff right over them while buffing the paint on the adjacent panel. This assumes that you're using a DA buffer and not a rotary buffer since a rotary is so much more aggressive than a DA.

Why does this really matter if "chrome is chrome", and we all know that chrome is really hard stuff? Because in reality, not all chrome parts are created equal. Usually when we think of chrome plating we think of the whole dipping process that we've seen on shows like How It's Made, segments of programs like Overhaulin', Wheeler Dealers, American Hot Rod, Dirty Jobs and countless YouTube videos. That's an electrolytic process that involves numerous steps where the part is dipped into a variety of solutions, including multiple acid dips between coatings of nickel, copper and ultimately the chrome.

But there is a much cheaper alternative that is often used for less prominent plastic parts, and that's vacuum metalizing. In this process the part is placed into a vacuum chamber along with a metallic coating material. That coating material is heated to the point of evaporation and it then condenses onto the part in a thin film. It's not unlike the hot water from your shower vaporizing and then condensing on the bathroom mirror, except this is a metalized coating applied in a vacuum chamber, so it bonds to the part in question. But this coating tends to be much thinner than an electrolytic process and not as durable, either, so it's often covered in a protective clear coat. This is a common process used in window trim and other smaller pieces, sometimes with a coating but sometimes without.

It should be noted that regardless of application, you can still end up with a very thin coating that is easier to rub through than a thicker, heavier coating would be. Quality of coating varies in many other regards as well, and we see this all the time with aftermarket chrome wheels.

For as hard as chrome is, it can still be scratched. And therein lies the rub (pardon the pun). Because chrome is so hard, once it is scratched it can be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to remove the scratch. We do make a dedicated chrome polish (Hot Rims Chrome Polish - catchy name, huh?) that is really good stuff, put into the proper context (it's not going to remove a key scratch from chrome for the reason noted above). But if you're doing really good routine maintenance on your vehicle and you're concerned with not only keeping the chromed plastic bits looking as good as the paint, but also about not rubbing through what could be a fairly thin coating, then continue to treat it like your paint. That means not worrying about running your DA over that chrome trim, maybe using a cleaner wax or light paint cleaner on it, and waxing it when you wax the rest of the paint.

[ShinyChevy]

Re: What to use on chromed plastic trim?

I'm doing an 08 right now.
What year is yours?
The chrome on this ine was dirty and as I'm polishing the paint I'm getting the trim also.
After I dress the rubber trim I'll inspect and use a little M205 if I missed any spots with my polisher

2012
The paint seems pretty hard on these. It came with DISO at no extra charge, took 105 on a 8006 pad to clean up. What products and pads are you using?

But if you're doing really good routine maintenance on your vehicle and you're concerned with not only keeping the chromed plastic bits looking as good as the paint, but also about not rubbing through what could be a fairly thin coating, then continue to treat it like your paint. That means not worrying about running your DA over that chrome trim, maybe using a cleaner wax or light paint cleaner on it, and waxing it when you wax the rest of the paint.

Great advice, thanks Michael!