try this 
I don't clam to know every thing or the best way to sort out the best chrome - but i can show and share what i have found out that works for me so far
we all know chrome is a layer over metal and other things like plastic and it reflects the light making it seem very shinny, but over the years chrome can become dull with marks
It can get lines and dots/spots on it and so make it look dull - what we try to do it clean it up and soften it to make it look smooth again
lines - this is where some one may try to clean it with the wrong type of cloth - a Brillo pad will scratch chrome and leave hair line marks - the lines deflect the light and so dull it up - some can be light line and some can be heavy and close together - the more it has the worse the chrome is gonna look - some lines can be polished out and rubbed down so not to show to much
surface rust - this can be a pin pick in the chrome which starts to let water/damp in and the rust starts to grow and spread out - weaker/thinner chrome lets in more rust and where water hits the frame along with help of dirt and bits on the ground, start to put little holes in places and allows rust to start - bike left uncleaned after a ride can rust and a bike that is left like this for years can hit a bike bad with rust
chipped chrome - chrome can flack depending on how good it was put on - if it chips it can let in more damp and start rust on the unprotected metal - a re-chrome or paint may be the only way to go here
This is where you have to look at the bike all over to see what is on the bike or parts - after a clean and polish it may still look dull in places - you have to decide if you can live with it or will spend money on new chrome or paint - i myself don't mind a bike/parts that look like they have seen the years - some don't - it's up to you !
Right i have picked some forks here for this show
I had a look to see if there was any flaking of chrome and there was not - at this point you can't see if there are any lines in the chrome
Yes there is plenty of surface rust and i'm not sure if it goes deep
as you can see they look rough and most would just chuck them to the side
Now you need to know what you need to clean them with
A oven or bathroom surface cleaner - this will help eat any grim that is on the forks and start to soften the rust - you can use soapy water as well
i use some polishing cloth - i bought a wheel size roll of it for a fiver at a carboot - it works well as any bits /parts of dirt/rust get trapped inside and not on the face of the cloth while cleaning - it also last a bit longer that some clothes
Now here is a great product - PEEK metal polish - way better than the more harsh auto sol which can do more damage i find - peek is a fine paste polish that you can use wet or dry - you can use it on a cloth - tooth brush - tooth pick - dremel mop
and here is another secret to help you bring up the chrome
GODDARD'S long term silver polishing cloth
This i have found work very well on chrome and adds a shin that you can be proud of - in fact even if you don't want to clean chrome from the start but just want to give you bike a shine, try it and have it in your cleaning parts bin - Robert dyas sell them
Don't use it on decals as it will dull them and always test on some thing/place that won't be seen so much
Do use it on chrome like a duster and wipe after with a clean duster
a clean duster for after all the work is done
Right that is what you need and now how you need to do it
use gloves here
Spray the oven / bathroom cleaner on the forks and leave for five minutes - now at this point i shouldn't have to tell you to do this out side and away from kids / pets / the wife
now rubbing in and then wipe off oven cleaner and wash with soapy water,
this will get a lot of grime off and show where the rust spots are
looks bad but know the time taking work starts - get a razor and wet the forks and you start to softly glide the razor over a rust spot - it will take the top rust off and leave a pin hole spot - do the whole forks but like a inch at a time - it you press to hard then it may lift up any bigger spot of flaking and muck it all up - softly will do the job and not leave lines any where
you have to work in the gaps and where the welds are - but the razor should get most of it up - it will take a bit of time but this bit is where it will make a difference
now that the razor bit is done it's a wipe off with a wet cloth and ready for PEEK
now you can see the dullness and some lines - get a cloth and put a couple of pea size dollops and start to rub in straight lines along the forks - it will wear you down and hurt you fingers, but no pain no gain they say - do the whole forks and the welds and any bits that are hard to reach use a tooth brush or a tooth pick (works well in the welds and weep holes )
now that the peek has been used with a dry cloth, you can also get a wet cloth (a kitchen jay-cloth works well) and put some more peek on to it - rub in the cloth face and then work over the forks - this is like when you wet sand things - the water acts as a softener and a smooth finish will show - do this for a while as to flatten down the chrome and bring back the shine with taken of the dull lines and rust spots
wash off any peek left and dry - you can leave it in the airing cupboard over night - once dry you will need to get the Goddard's cloth and start rubbing up and down the forks - a good idea is to have another cloth/duster in the other hand so not to leave any grease marks from your hands - work the cloth over the chrome for a while
once you are happy with the Goddards cloth then you can use a clean duster to shine it all up
as you can see in different light it will show some of the rust spot pin holes and line - in different light it will hide them as the polishing with peek and the Goddard's cloth have help bring the shine back
So as you can see with a bit of know how and lots of hard work you can bring back most of the chrome - i'm not saying that it will work on all chrome and depending on how far the rust has taken - it is also up to your self to do the hard work - the more you put in the more you get out
key points
use protection - glove / glasses / cold water near by
use a good chrome cleaner - see what the super market has to offer on oven /bathroom cleaners
use a good razor and keep working at it - the better it's done here the better it will look later on
use elbow grease to rub hard and bring up the chrome with peek
some with the Goddard's cloth - rub and rub and it will shine
they say hard work shows the fakes from the pros - this is not for every body and some will just send them to be re chromed - or they might not like the look of a part with a bit of years showing - me i like to see parts brought back to life and used,so who cares if it has some black marks on it or a couple of deep scratches or marks ~ at least peeps will know you had a go
from this
to this
and as you can see i have not replaced the forks with a better set - this is how i got the mongoose cooked and brought it back to life - now go and have a try
hope this helps and if you have any more information or you own findings on if it worked for you by doing it this way - please do
cheers B
