Who's the Genius who told me to clean my chrome with 0000 steel wool?!

[Big_Richard]

.

[Tony66_au]

Just remember that Copper turns green at the drop of a hat....................  and its also quite soft.

Id be happier to use Brass as an alternative and in the past I have snaffled brass swarf from an engineering shop I used to look after which was close to wool form and then used it to clean alloy wheels in handfull's.

[John Hubertz]

So from what I'm gathering - bronze wool is the "good stuff".  Readily available, as it turns out, and for reasonable prices:

http://www.briwax-online.com/brswool.html

Or, available on eBay ($4.99 for a pack of 3 pads) - apparently a big item with the boating crowd.

[Tony66_au]

Much better and fairly inert when it comes to cars John, and if you ever need to start a fire without matches a set of jumper leads and a 12 volt car battery and they make a great firelighter lol

[oversize]

I searched extensively, and have only found one source for true "copper wool" in the USA.  Oddly, it isn't being sold as a product for automotive use.  I'd think it would be marvelous for this type of issue - especially on older finishes as it must be much softer than plain steel wool....

It is sold as a catalyzing filter medium.  Big fluffy rolls... kind of like pink stuff insulation batting.  It is graded from "coarse" to "super fine".  You can get it in standard, or extra-pure copper.

If I take the chance and order a roll, would anyone like to try it out (for free) here in the states?  Seems to me it would be a great eBay niche product for automotive and motorcycle applications.  I'd have to make sure it works though....

It isn't cheap - as in $70 per pound for the extra fine grade.  But hey, if I can get enough to make 10 or 15 small packages for resale, it makes a guy think.  Hmmmm.

I think the hardness has a lot to do with the final result.  It must be harder than the stubborn gunk, but softer than chrome.  Remember chrome is very hard so steel is ok, but rust is the big issue.  Stainless won't rust, but I think it's too course and too hard.  Copper goes green.  Brass might be ok if it's the right grade and hardness.  I've got no idea where to get it though.

Anodizing is far softer than chrome, so a different solution must be sought for that.  I'd heard that a light polish followed by a coat of lacquer is the cheapest option, followed by replacement and re-anodizing.

[John Hubertz]

* error

[hagar24]

You are welcome!


BTW, quad 0 steel wool is also used in french polishing or shellac-ing and on a more personal note I scrub my nuts with it..........

I am rolling on the floor dying

[Tony66_au]

What?

Its an easy way to get my nuts rust free!

[Casey]

Its an easy way to get my nuts rust free!

I prefer to let mine soak in rust remover overnight.  There is no way that steel wool is gonna reach into the threads on the inside of a nut effectively.

Unless of course, you're talking about a different type of nut (don't know of any that can have rust, though).