[metsub]

Hi,

i was just wondering what people use to polish the chrome line exterior..i use normal furniture polish (lol) ..dont know what else to use!

thanks!

[mini33]

I use Meguairs Nxt (its a a small pot & last for ages & you just rub in & rub off) & it make the chrome shine

Its in my garage if you want the exact name

Hope that helps

[metsub]

Hi.

Just had a quick search on google is it the NXT All Metal Polysh?

thanks

[mini33]

yeh thats the stuff - you can get from Halfords or somewhere like that - its quite expensive pot but i have had my mini for over a year & a big fan of the chrome & it have only used about 1/4- 1/2 of the pot

Only think to be carefull of is dont get on paintwork or black arches as its a pig to get off & shows the blue & make sure you get it all of as otherwise goes crusty but apart from that, thats all i used

May be other prducts but that what i find i am happy with

Also may be quite hard putty when you buy & occasionaly have to stur around to prevent this

Hope that helps

[MINI&MERCGUY]

I think it is worth clarifying that the 'chrome' exterior trim pieces are not actually chrome at all, but plastic...so to use metal polish might be a bit over the top - surely normal car polish would do the trick...

[metsub]

hmm..true..i guess might be worth trying

[metsub]

on the otherhand if mini33 is getting good results i might aswell try that...would be good to see what a few other people use aswell though..

[mini33]

I tried normal polish & it doesn't give the chorme so much of a shine as this stuff - it says metal but if your read the pot it says for plastics etc

Each to there own what they prefer!!!

[metsub]

great! in that case ill give it ago! thanks for your help!

[PmP]

Treat all plastic exterior chrome and lights as you would the bodywork, amazing how badly swirled the plastics surfaces become just the same as the paint. Just avoid the rubber bits and the black plastic trim.

The chrome isnt metal, but it is a chrome paint so kind of is a metal!

That meguiars stuff is similar to brasso, autosol and other mild metal polishes, quite good on the exterior of a GRS intercooler. Might be worth trying toothpaste, no joke arm and hammer works wonders on cleaning metals and is milder.

[Streeters]

I treat mine exactly like paintwork, and just polish/wax as i do with the rest of the car

PmP might try toothpaste on my exhaust tip next time i clean it

[Randall Raines]

The only metal chrome on the 1st Gen MINIs is the strips under the windows, exhaust / tail-pipe ends, S filler cap and spot-lamps if fitted (depending on spot-lamps of course) everything else that looks like chrome is plastic (I don't think anybody dis-agrees on this ).

The metal chrome is best cleaned with abrasive metal polish, Autosol, Brasso etc... etc... even tooth-past as this has been mentioned, but don't use the abrasive stuff on the plastic as it can do the exact opposite (dull it all with fine scratches) .

The plastic chrome is best cleaned with the non-abrasive polishes, Glass & plastic cleaner, some non-abrasive metal polishes (only if they state suitable for plastics on the container (some glass cleaners can turn the plastic white )) .

That's my pennys worth, as also mentioned before everybody will have their own method that they swear by and some will agree and some disagree.

[metsub]

thanks for your replies, i think ill head down and pick up 2 different products for the chrome and plastic..

[I love MINI, Laura]

I use autoglym Metal polish for the front chrome grille. It comes out lovely so seems to work!

[+++MadMatt+++]

Sorry to slightly hijack this thread, but I noticed when cleaning my chrome line exterior the other day that its flaking away underneath.



Sorry not the greatest of photos, whats the best way to repair this? Or will I need to purchase a new chrome line strip?

[r1_kde]

well the plating is only 0.2mm MAX so when you are all using polish you are thinning this! the best thing for this is baby oil or a good wax.

About 25 microns for the copper and 10 microns for the nickle plate

[metsub]

be pretty helpful if you could say what polish etc you used so that we can avoid?

thanks

[Randall Raines]

Quote: Originally Posted by PmP (original)

Treat all plastic exterior chrome and lights as you would the bodywork

The other ½ purchased some 'AUTO GLYM' cleaning products the other day to aid in cleaning the MINI, including some 'Metal Polish' but it states on the container not to be used on the modern chromed plastics and advises to use the 'Super Resin Polish' which is for the bodywork / paintwork just as 'PMP' has stated, I had my own methods for cleaning plastic chromed parts on the MINI which seemed Very Good until I came across a neglected chrome-boot-handle which was quite badly tarnished and my usual method didn't bring it up as good as it usually did, so I tried some of the 'Super Resin Polish' which brought it up very well indeed and also finished it of with a nice shine (hence I'll be using this from now on , it can be quite dear £££££ stuff though, but the other ½ got a load on sale ).

Quote: Originally Posted by +++MadMatt+++ (original)

Or will I need to purchase a new chrome line strip?

I would say you need to get a new chrome strip once some of it has flaked off as yours has (or just put up with it, but once it starts to flake it will probably get worse ).

[Vin]

I've always used the Auto Glym super resin polish and I think it always looks great.

[Streeters]

Quote: Originally Posted by Streeters (original)

I treat mine exactly like paintwork, and just polish/wax as i do with the rest of the car

I usually use Meguiars carnuba wax or clean wax on mine and have had no problems to date