On your car, chrome parts can be among the most attractive ones because of the finish’s strength and durability. While being incredibly resistant to weather, dirt, road grime, and everything else that beats your car every single day, chrome plating on your wheels, grille, trim, and mirrors give your vehicle a shine that is visible from across the parking area. Despite the finish’s durability, it will begin to seem worn, pitted, faded, chalky, or even rusty without regular maintenance. Fortunately, the majority of those problems are surface-level and don’t affect the actual finish.
You should perform routine maintenance on any parts of your car that are finished in chrome to keep them looking nice for years to come. Proper maintenance increases the market value of your automobile, just like everything else on it, and who doesn’t love a car that still looks brand new years after purchasing it?
If you need a chrome cleaner and don’t have any idea about the ideal options, check out our reliable list of the top 5 best chrome cleaners.
#1 Meguiar’s Hot Rims Chrome Wheel Cleaner
Meguiar’s Hot Rims is a cleaning solution made especially for chrome wheels. Your wheels encounter some of the worst road hazards, including rocks, curbs, tar, mud, and other things you drive through. Meguiar’s exclusive “Xtreme Cling” foam helps Hot Rims stay to your vertical wheels while the cleaner works. Hot Rims utilizes advanced chemistry to break down dirt, grime, and brake dust with powerful and efficient cleaners.
It turns red when it comes into touch with grime to assist you in seeing that it’s working; other than for the grimiest buildup on your chrome, you shouldn’t even need a brush. After thoroughly cleaning your chrome wheels, you can apply a polish and protectant to keep them looking good until the next cleaning is necessary. A locking mechanism on the spray nozzle of the bottle helps to protect kids from the acidic cleaner.
Overall, we love this product for its features, such as the Xtreme Cling foam and the color-changing effect that showcases that it’s working. You just have to be fully aware that this product is only for chrome wheels and can cause damage to other types of finishes.
#2 Renovator’s Supply Simichrome Polish
Simichrome bills itself as the world’s finest all-metal polish, which is a bold claim. It costs more because it’s a high-end polish, but it also polishes and protects your chrome in addition to cleaning it. In addition to chrome, the polish is safe for use on a variety of metals, including aluminum, bronze, and more. This should be able to clean glossy, uncoated metal.
This suggestion boasts exceptional cleaning chemicals and the finest micron particle size of any polish on the market. These particles shield your chrome from scratches. They also prevent damage to metals that are not coated. You can use this product on your jewelry as well as other silver- or gold-plated items because it won’t remove a coating as it cleans, which is crucial for extended life. Make sure you’re not attempting to polish plastic simulated chrome, as this can harm its surfaces.
Overall, we recommend this product because it is safe to use on all uncoated metals. It not only cleans but also protects. Just take note that this chrome cleaner is pricier compared to other options.
#3 Flitz Stainless Steel & Chrome Clean
If you have not heard of Flitz, it’s totally understandable since they primarily cater to large businesses. These are companies that understand that time is money and don’t waste it messing around with cleaning. Flitz has been producing polishes, protectants, and cleaners for over 40 years. Powerful degreasers are present in Flitz Stainless Steel and Chrome Clean to assist in cleaning your chrome of oil and grease, fingerprints, automotive fluids, grime, lotions, and body oil.
To use this, you just have to spray on, wipe with the grain, and then wipe off. Allow it to soak, or use a nylon pad for even tougher grease and debris. Your underhood chrome components, headlight surrounds, or the trim around your car windows won’t be a problem at all because they were made to keep industrial kitchen appliances and BBQs pristine. It enables you to complete the task using a polish of your choosing, including Flitz’s own polish and protectant. This item is created in the United States and is non-toxic. For usage beneath the hood, it is also non-flammable.
Overall, we love this product because it is non-toxic and water-based. Just be aware of streaking because some users of this product have mentioned this issue before.
#4 Borla Exhaust Cleaner and Polish
The exhaust tube on your car receives some of the harshest treatment of any finished surface. It is constantly being pummeled with contaminants as it runs underneath your car, including tar, heat, rubber, more heat, rain, and salt. It is difficult to clean such exhaust pipes. Borla exhaust cleaner is made to restore your exhaust system’s stainless steel and chrome to its original sparkling state. If you’ve never heard of Borla, it is one of the most well-known aftermarket producers of exhaust components and is, therefore, knowledgeable about maintaining and cleaning them.
This product effectively removes the oxide buildup on metal surfaces, restoring the chrome parts’ original shine. According to Borla, despite the fact that it was designed for your exhaust, it is safe to use on chrome, brass, copper, aluminum, and other metals on automobiles, trucks, motorbikes, and boats. The polish is even put to the test by the company, which uses bronze wool to really go harsh with the oxidation under your car.
Overall, we recommend this chrome cleaner because it is safe to use for chrome and other types of metals. Just make sure that you don’t use it on colored chrome, such as the black exhaust tips.
#5 Quickway Quick-Glo Chrome Cleaner & Rust Remover
Since 1957, Quick-Glo, a rust remover and chrome cleanser, has been available for purchase. Because it is non-toxic and environmentally safe, according to the manufacturer, you don’t need to wear gloves or think about fumes in a closed garage. Additionally, it is water-based, making it simple to apply once you’ve arrived at the auto show for quick touch-up removal of bugs and road grime. You do not need to wash it off with water and soap. You can just easily wipe it off.
Pumice is the polishing component; most people use sand or other media. Pumice gradually reduces in size, enabling it to gently polish, clean, and eliminate oxidation from the chrome parts. The product’s versatility is increased by the fact that it works on chrome yet is soft enough to use on glass to remove tough water stains and other impurities.
Overall, we recommend this product because it is non-toxic, effective, and uses pumice as an abrasive. However, this comes in a small container, and some users have mentioned that it turns into liquid if you store it in hot places.
Make Sure It’s Chrome Before Cleaning
An extremely thin coating that is sprayed to plastic elements of many modern vehicles creates the appearance of chrome. Essentially, it is chrome paint. It has a chrome-like appearance, but it doesn’t function like chrome, so using a chrome cleaning or polish on it won’t necessarily improve it. Use a standard car wash, polish, and wax on those parts because they are designed for those surfaces. To avoid issues in the future, whatever you use, make sure the metal you’re cleaning is mentioned on the label.
Cleaning Chrome
The best place to start is always with soap and water, even though these are chrome cleaners. A water spray would do. In this manner, the surface is swiftly cleaned of the worst pollutants while receiving plenty of lubrication from the effective soap and water. In addition to making sure the chrome isn’t too hot from baking in the sun, which might cook your cleaner into the surface, it also makes sure you don’t wind up hurting the surface anymore by rubbing the dirt into it.
Move your chrome parts out of the sun after it has been washed. Apply the cleaner next in accordance with the instructions. More is not always better, and if your chrome pieces are that filthy, you might just need to do the work again rather than soak them in chemicals. Use a soft cloth or polishing pad to gently rub the surface of parts like bumpers until you get the desired results. Spray the cleanser onto the wheels if you’re using a spray bottle, and then leave them alone for the time recommended on the label.
In both cases, you can use a soft brush, such as an old toothbrush, to get into the crevices that a cloth can’t. When you’re through, wipe using a clean cloth, move your car back into the sun, and be careful not to look at that shine too closely. You can follow it up using a metal polish or protectant.