How can I get the chrome on my vintage bike to really shine and look less scratchy?

Question

I just bought a Schwinn Hollywood from the 60s or 70s and I'm trying to clean it up. The chrome parts had been re-painted, so I used 220 sandpaper and very fine steel wool to take the paint off, then chrome polish to try and shine it up. The problem is that, thought I used a very fine grit, there aer fine scratches everywhere from the sand paper. It's shiney and all, but it's just not smooth. Any ideas what I can use to rub out some fine scratches? I'm figuring it's impossible!

Answer 1

Yep, Simichrome is the only option.

Next time if you MUST use an abrasive on chrome, use a Brillo pad. 220 is actually very coarse in the real world... when you get to 800 and 1000 grit is getting to be fine.

Answer 2

Hmmm. Not sure, but I use a buffing wheel  on my cordless drill and rouge like for polishing jewelry to do the pipes on my vintage motorcycle, but I'm not sure if that would remove the scratches. Maybe some tripoli (for jewelry) would do it

Answer 3

you shouldn't have used grit to get the paint off, use a paint stripper , turps is fine, chrome is very thin over the bright nickel, once the paint comes off use meths or turps again to clean the plating , but i think you may have to get it redone again, if the part is steel keep an eye on it as rust is liable to develop, then again the bumps could mean that the base metal is zinc diecast and is blistering, take it  to a plating shop for advice

Answer 4

Simichrome Polish.  It's been used by us old car restorers for decades.

If it won't fix your problem nothing will.

Answer 5

try never dull. then use a sealing metal polish. you have scratched the finish though, so be sure to use a sealer finish. otherwise, your bike will eventually rust. chrome is a surface finish. once it is compromised, the metal underneath will rust through..