I don’t know how many of you have noticed but the lovely polished chrome legs to the head rests over time go horrible ...dull & corroded ...
Maybe it’s the cold in winter!?! But I was so fed up with polishing them up plus they never looked like they should! So.....

I rubbed them down primed them & sprayed them! Then sealed them.
It can take a while for them to harden but when they do it won’t scratch or chip!

I did mine matte black to go with my interior but they could be done in any colour unless your fortunate enough to still have shiny chrome still!

Anyway just an idea for an often overlooked area of our beloved 500s [emoji4]

That looks very good, and suits your interior. Mine's all red, cream and black (apart from the ubiquitous grey) so I like chrome highlights. I lightly polish the rods every so often which brings 'em up like new.

Piccolo Nero e Bella said:

That looks very good, and suits your interior. Mine's all red, cream and black (apart from the ubiquitous grey) so I like chrome highlights. I lightly polish the rods every so often which brings 'em up like new.

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You got more patience than me [emoji38]

Or you could do them black?

It does look good, but doesn't it scratch the paint lower down where the clamps are, meaning you cannot pull them out further without scratches being visible ?
On the other hand, you may not do that anyway once you have the right position...
I am surprised though that the paint holds well on the chrome, which is not normally the case. But maybe it is lousy chrome in the first place, which would explain the corrosion - good chrome plated steel should last longer than the car...

Gina500 said:

It does look good, but doesn't it scratch the paint lower down where the clamps are, meaning you cannot pull them out further without scratches being visible ?
On the other hand, you may not do that anyway once you have the right position...
I am surprised though that the paint holds well on the chrome, which is not normally the case. But maybe it is lousy chrome in the first place, which would explain the corrosion - good chrome plated steel should last longer than the car...

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I wonder if it just polished steel rather then chrome.plated
Would explain how it corroded easily

I don't think they are chrome plated - either that or it's an extremely light plating. The unexposed section inside the seat is perfect. They come up a treat with a light application of a metal polish cream but it has to be done regularly - I do mine at least once a year. While the car is laid up I'll polish them again and then apply a protective clear coat and see how that goes.:idea:


Perhaps some cars have a better original coating than others or it's down to environment. Climate here is very mild/warm and relatively dry compared to the UK.


This is the office of 'Black Pearl'. I fell in love with the interior at first sight even though I'd sworn never to buy another black car...!

Piccolo Nero e Bella said:

I don't think they are chrome plated - either that or it's an extremely light plating. The unexposed section inside the seat is perfect. They come up a treat with a light application of a metal polish cream but it has to be done regularly - I do mine at least once a year. While the car is laid up I'll polish them again and then apply a protective clear coat and see how that goes.:idea:


Perhaps some cars have a better original coating than others or it's down to environment. Climate here is very mild/warm and relatively dry compared to the UK.


This is the office of 'Black Pearl'. I fell in love with the interior at first sight even though I'd sworn never to buy another black car...!

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Wow!! Beautiful interior [emoji106] I love matte black only issue ... dust & finger prints[emoji23]

Gina500 said:

It does look good, but doesn't it scratch the paint lower down where the clamps are, meaning you cannot pull them out further without scratches being visible ?
On the other hand, you may not do that anyway once you have the right position...
I am surprised though that the paint holds well on the chrome, which is not normally the case. But maybe it is lousy chrome in the first place, which would explain the corrosion - good chrome plated steel should last longer than the car...

Click to expand...

I’ve locked em into position can honestly I’ve never had to move em before! I did take one out to see if it got marked or scraped there was only one mark from the clamp but it’s low down and not seen

Doubt I’ll move them again!! I just got tired of having to polish them up and mine never came up like new anyway

I need to check ours out, your seats look so glossy [emoji41] the only reason we ended up with a Fiat 500 was because of the interior [emoji1787] my lady loves it [emoji7]

Piccolo Nero e Bella said:

I don't think they are chrome plated - either that or it's an extremely light plating. The unexposed section inside the seat is perfect. They come up a treat with a light application of a metal polish cream but it has to be done regularly - I do mine at least once a year. While the car is laid up I'll polish them again and then apply a protective clear coat and see how that goes.:idea:


Perhaps some cars have a better original coating than others or it's down to environment. Climate here is very mild/warm and relatively dry compared to the UK.


This is the office of 'Black Pearl'. I fell in love with the interior at first sight even though I'd sworn never to buy another black car...!

Click to expand...

CraigUK74 said:

I need to check ours out, your seats look so glossy [emoji41] the only reason we ended up with a Fiat 500 was because of the interior [emoji1787] my lady loves it [emoji7]View attachment 208969

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Stunning interior - your lady has great taste! Airy and bright - so much better than the greys and blacks so common these days. When I bought mine I'd actually gone to the dealers to check out a used red 500 Sport hatch but the totally grey interior was so boring. The salesman said "Come and look at this..." and led me over to a new black 500C Lounge and I said "No, not black!" - then he opened the door and roof and I was sold - despite the fact it was thousands more. I only learned later, after I'd bought it, that it was a limited 'Twinair' edition and the last manual Lounge available at that time.

My seats look pretty much like yours in the daylight - I think the shine on the drivers seat is down to frequent use and the camera flash. The passenger seat hardly ever gets used (the wife has her own 500C!).

If I could change one thing it'd be the roof; swap the black fabric for the ivory.

Polished all the headrest rods today and then coated them with Johnson's 'Future' - it'll probably be twelve months before I can say whether it works however.

Several years ago I polished up a brass dragon plaque we have screwed to the front door (of the house, I hasten to add!) and then likewise brushed it with Future - I haven't had to touch it since, despite the fact it's out in all weathers, so I reckon this might work.