Restoring/cleaning chrome trim

[Scott8881]

Hey i have a 2004 audi s4 and i was just wondering if there was any way to clean the chrome trim on the car around the windows and on the mirror covers. I have trued using chrome and aluminum cleaner and so far nothing worked. Do they need some sort of special polish or something?



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[Blackstallion]

May have better luck posting in the Detailers section - one thing I do know is 04's mirror caps are real aluminum verse plastic covers...


is your trim just looking tired from fading or water spots?

Detailing section --> http://www.audizine.com/forum/forumd...ailer-s-Domain

[s4ski]

I believe the aluminum mirrors are coated. I would be concerned not to be too aggressive with cleaners and risk damaging the coating. I've tried a bunch of products on the aluminum trim and roof rails, to no avail. Some forum members swore by Quick Glo, but it did little for me.

[Scott8881]

May have better luck posting in the Detailers section - one thing I do know is 04's mirror caps are real aluminum verse plastic covers...


is your trim just looking tired from fading or water spots?

Detailing section --> http://www.audizine.com/forum/forumd...ailer-s-Domain

The trim is cloudy and has waterspots


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[chip_]

Is it like this? Not sure what happened to mine but I am going to probably get it wrapped in black soon.

[jmcS4]

The trim is cloudy and has waterspots


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its pretty common for this to happen. i currently have the same issue as you. i plan on wrapping the trim in a brushed chrome finish vinyl. There is a thread somewhere on here that details how someone sanded down their trim (removing the clear and exposing the metal. then sanding it to a brilliant finish. that fixed the clear coat problem. detailing products only work for a short time and then next thing you know the cloudiness returns

[s4ski]

its pretty common for this to happen. i currently have the same issue as you. i plan on wrapping the trim in a brushed chrome finish vinyl. There is a thread somewhere on here that details how someone sanded down their trim (removing the clear and exposing the metal. then sanding it to a brilliant finish. that fixed the clear coat problem. detailing products only work for a short time and then next thing you know the cloudiness returns

Yep, I saw that thread and I'm thinking of doing the same thing.

[Gosser]

There is a thread somewhere on here that details how someone sanded down their trim (removing the clear and exposing the metal. then sanding it to a brilliant finish. that fixed the clear coat problem.

Here is the thread where he sands it down. Jump to post #39 and on. I'm going to take my S to a guy to have paint corrected and going to see if he has any ideas, otherwise, I'll be sanding it down.

[Terry.Reese]

I wrapped mine black. mine were horrible as well as the mirrors. PO can go suck it on how bad he treated this car.

[Mr.Wrong]

This topic come up once in while. There was a thread some time back where someone recommended some product with good results, gonna have to dig for it as I don’t have it saved. You could always wrap it or paint it.

[Scott8881]

Image1520538873.455596.jpg
This is the worst part of it. Cant even see a reflection in it.


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[Terry.Reese]

Black for mine. Looks better than the stained look.

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[chip_]

Did you do matte or satin black?

[Terry.Reese]

Did you do matte or satin black?

Actually gloss, bad angle with lighting. but it color matches almost perfectly.

[Rirruto]

Do you like the chrome look? Personally, I don’t like chrome, so I wanted to change it. I wanted to maintain the “silver” trim look for the grilles and around the windows. I pulled the grilles apart and carefully taped around the windows. I then used some WD-40 with scotch-brite pads to “buff” the chrome in order to give a brushed aluminum look. It looks much better, but based on the condition of the trim, some spots aren’t perfect to my liking. I plan on wrapping it with vinyl once I get some more time.
Just another suggestion for you.


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[Terry.Reese]

Do you like the chrome look? Personally, I don’t like chrome, so I wanted to change it. I wanted to maintain the “silver” trim look for the grilles and around the windows. I pulled the grilles apart and carefully taped around the windows. I then used some WD-40 with scotch-brite pads to “buff” the chrome in order to give a brushed aluminum look. It looks much better, but based on the condition of the trim, some spots aren’t perfect to my liking. I plan on wrapping it with vinyl once I get some more time.
Just another suggestion for you.


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That is a pretty good idea, might do that on the other car.