>
> I have had numerous replies to my original question about removing paint
> overspray from a chrome bumper. Steel wool was featured in a number of
> the replies. However, one lister (R. John Lye) recommended not using
> steel wool because he felt (based on his father's advice) that the steel
> would react with the chrome and facilitate rust of the chrome part down
> the road. I include John's comments below for clarification. Also, since
> I am no chemical engineer, I will heed his advice to be safe and start
> of the paint removal with just lacquer thinner and/or acetone. Then I'll
> see how it goes. Ok Here is John's note:
>
> Be careful here - *don't* use steel wool on chrome. This will
> destroy the chrome. Steel and chrome have an electrolytic
> reaction that will cause rust all over your chrome. That's
> why they put a layer of copper and a layer of nickel between
> the steel of the bumper and the chrome so as the keep them separate.
> At least this is what my father (a materials scientist) told me
> when we cleaned up a friend's hubcaps with steel wool and they
> immediately rusted as soon as they got wet.
Hold on. Chrome doesn't rust. It, like aluminum, forms an oxide layer
with immediate contact with air (oxygen). It is a more or less
continuous, nonporous, transparent film that protects the chromium from
further oxidation (read rust for iron). Most "chrome" products and
plating is primarily nickel to reduce cost. The chromium makes it shiny.
I suspect the reason the hubcaps rusted is because the cleaning person
scrubbed to hard and got down past the plating in spots or scratches.
That's just off the cuff. More details if necessary.
Jim, your average metallurgist.
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* Jim Densley jamesd@wsunix.wsu.edu
*
* 61 TR4 CT757L
* 69 GT6+ KC540something LO
* 82 CB900F
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