How do I determine which of these accents on my 500 is actually chrome (and needs chrome polish) and what is painted (and will be ruined by metal polish)?

TrailRatedRN said:

How do I determine which of these accents on my 500 is actually chrome (and needs chrome polish) and what is painted (and will be ruined by metal polish)?

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I probably wouldn't use chrome polish, might be too harsh. Find an all round cleaner/ polish that's non abrasive that works for both the panels and shiny bits.

None of the stuff on the body of the 500 is actual chrome, also, none of it is painted, the stuff you're thinking of is chrome plated plastic which will not enjoy metal polish.


THe harshest thing I'd use on the chrome bits on a 500 is clay.

306maxi said:

None of the stuff on the body of the 500 is actual chrome, also, none of it is painted, the stuff you're thinking of is chrome plated plastic which will not enjoy metal polish.


THe harshest thing I'd use on the chrome bits on a 500 is clay.

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But how do I keep it shiny and protect it from the sun? Will the chrome not fade and wear like most anything else on a car that doesn't get special attention?

Wax it with the same (non-abrasive) polish you use on the rest of the car.

Carnuba wax I find is a very good wax for protecting all bodywork from sun and rain... Very few new cars if any have real chrome....

What they said, it's not going to fade anyway.

PsFiat said:

Very few new cars if any have real chrome....

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You mean they all have real chrome. It doesn't matter if the substrate is steel, alloy or plastic, the top layer is real chrome. Plastic parts are plated with copper, nickel and chrome just as they would be if they were metal.

Only very cheap 'chrome' finishes like you'll find on toys are finished in a process called vacuum coating. They typically wear off very quickly, far too fragile for automotive applications.

Oooooh, Vacuum Metal Deposition! It is also used by the police to develop fingerprints on plastic bags and other plastic items. It was discovered that it developed fingerprints by accident, when car manufacturers found they were having quality issues with workers touching the items before they were coated and leaving fingerprints, which stopped the chrome sticking. It's an expensive bit of kit so most forces have gone over to superglue, which was also found to develop fingerprints by accident.

TIL. Neat!

just wash and wax car as normal

definitely dont use 'metal/chrome polish'