Polishing:Īfter drying the stands and parts thoroughly with that hair dryer you haven’t used since the 80s, polish them. The secret of keeping the steel wool from scratching the chrome plating is to use lots of oil – keep it wet and don’t use pressure – just lightly rub the steel wool only over the rust and tarnish until the rust spots and tarnish disappear. Other products that clean chrome really well are Meguiar's Chrome Polish, Mother’s mag/metal polish and, believe it or not, toothpaste! I don’t recommend using steel wool because it will scratch the chrome but, If necessary for tough rust and tarnish spots, you can use 00000 gauge steel wool and machine oil or WD40. If a piece is heavily oxidized then it will need to soak in Naval jelly which is a goo the Navy developed for taking the rust off of battleships! You can find it at Home Depot or the hardware store.

Then, using Murphy’s oil soap in a plastic bucket or pan of hot water, clean each piece with paper towels and soft tooth brushes.

Pull or push thin cotton strips or terry cloth strips through the stand tubes with a smaller metal rod to remove any build up. It also really works on the un-chromed inside of those stand tubes. The heat and water will get the initial dirt, dust and crud off the metal without and will also dry it quickly. I know this sounds crazy and will not earn you any brownie points with your better half, but put your stands and lugs and hoops in the dishwasher inside some net bags and use regular dishwasher detergent. There are other high tech solutions like polymers but we are talking DIY home remedies here. The most common protection for chromed stands and parts (and metal car bumpers) is wax. So the solution is to keep your hardware dry so it can’t pit. That leads to rusting of the underlying metal causing a cavity that the chrome plating sinks into. What causes pitting? Pitting results from moisture getting through tiny cracks and scratches in the thin chrome plating. How to clean and polish your metal hardware to prevent rust and pitting.

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