Remove rust from chromed steel

[torjus]

Hi! I just purchased this Colnago (I think it’s an international) and I want to remove the rust from

the fork, I assume it is chrom, (can anyone confirm?) I tried water an aluminum foil and the rust went away but it also looks like I removed another layer? Any thoughts on this? Is it ok to continue with the aluminum foil? The layer underneath is shiny and better looking. And any tips for polishing after removing the rust? Anything helps! Thanks

 

[Yellow Saddle]

Rust is not something that sits on top of chrome plating. That rust is oxidised steel on sections of missing chrome plating. If you rub it with something that makes it shiny again you are merely removing the top oxidised layer of iron oxide to expose naked steel undereneath, that will rust again before you have had time to open a beer.

That thing is ruined and any fix is only cosmetic and temporary. It can be chemically stripped and re-chromed but it will always look rough and pitted, even with fresh chrome.

 

[Drago]

Soak the rim in oxalic acid.

It sounds horrific, but OA isn't caustic to you or your skin, and its very inexpensive. It's my favourite ungent for removing rust and is almost magically powerful at doing so without harm t chrome, paint or good metal.

Trust me, I'm a doctor.

 

[glasgowcyclist]

Soak the rim in oxalic acid.

It sounds horrific, but OA isn't caustic to you or your skin, and its very inexpensive. It's my favourite ungent for removing rust and is almost magically powerful at doing so without harm t chrome, paint or good metal.

Trust me, I'm a doctor.

I use that, in the form of Bar Keeper’s Friend, for cleaning pots and pans etc.. It’s readily available and its primary ingredient is oxalic acid.

 

[TheDoctor]

I've used foil andcola in the past - a weak phosphoric acid solution. The rust won't stay gone though...

 

[Hover Fly]

That thing is ruined and any fix is only cosmetic and temporary. It can be chemically stripped and re-chromed but it will always look rough and pitted, even with fresh chrome.

A good plater would be able to strip and replate using a first layer of copper to fill the pits and re-polish before the nickel and chrome. It could look as good as new, but how bad is the pitting, if it is bad the forks will have lost a lot of strength.

 

[raleighnut]

Chroming will lead to weakening of the steel unless it is 'baked' after chroming (google Hydrogen embriittlement)
Also be aware that Chrome plating is porous allowing the steel under it to corrode

 

[Punkawallah]

I scrub rusty chrome plating with tin foil and cola. Will solve the problem unless the rust has eaten through completely, and even then the result looks better than the rust.
This one had rusted wheel rims and handlebars:

 

[sevenfourate]

I scrub rusty chrome plating with tin foil and cola. Will solve the problem unless the rust has eaten through completely, and even then the result looks better than the rust.
This one had rusted wheel rims and handlebars:

Looks great. How do you protect it afterwards to encourage it not to / stop it coming back ?

 

[newts]

Looks great. How do you protect it afterwards to encourage it not to / stop it coming back ?

Alu foil with acid like vinegar/lemon juice then Autosol metal polish which leaves a waxy protective coating. Re-chroming is very expensive often beyond the value of the bike.

 

[sevenfourate]

Alu foil with acid like vinegar/lemon juice then Autosol metal polish which leaves a waxy protective coating.

Sounds good. Do you have any long term experience of how that holds up, to UV, Salt, Weather etc ?

I didn't know if you'd tried a modern synthetic car paintwork sealant, ceramic coating - or even a spray-on nano wax / sealant. Many of which give a minimum of 6 months protection. Ceramic protection being measured in years of course......

 

[Yellow Saddle]

A good plater would be able to strip and replate using a first layer of copper to fill the pits and re-polish before the nickel and chrome. It could look as good as new, but how bad is the pitting, if it is bad the forks will have lost a lot of strength.

No amount of plating can fill pits. The substrate has to be absolutely smooth. Any imperfections will simply translate through the various layers and always be visible. In order to fill pits with plating you will have to selectively plate small irrebgular sections, which cannot be done. From what I can see in the photo, that fork will never look good again if replated. The only asthetic salvation is body putty and paint.

 

[Punkawallah]

Looks great. How do you protect it afterwards to encourage it not to / stop it coming back ?

I give the whole bike a rub over with a car cleaning product - seems to do the trick. If it persists I’ll re-do it and coat with clear nail varnish.

 

[newts]

Sounds good. Do you have any long term experience of how that holds up, to UV, Salt, Weather etc ?

I didn't know if you'd tried a modern synthetic car paintwork sealant, ceramic coating - or even a spray-on nano wax / sealant. Many of which give a minimum of 6 months protection. Ceramic protection being measured in years of course......

With pitted chrome like the op's pictures, you'll need to use the Autosol quite regularly depending on how much exposure it gets. I'm very much in the camp of trying to preserve the original & accept a few flaws where old Chrome is concerned.

 

[Hover Fly]

No amount of plating can fill pits. The substrate has to be absolutely smooth. Any imperfections will simply translate through the various layers and always be visible. In order to fill pits with plating you will have to selectively plate small irrebgular sections, which cannot be done. From what I can see in the photo, that fork will never look good again if replated. The only asthetic salvation is body putty and paint.

Trust me,I restore metals in a well known museum. Work rules say I can't make endorsements but a decent plater would be able to do something about those pits, but it won't be cheap expect to pay £300-400
https://www.finishing.com/141/29.shtml