How do you guys prep that plastic "fake chrome" grill/trim material

[House of Wax]

I`m going to be doing paint correction and a sealant on my wife`s car this weekend. I`m wondering what you guys do to polish up that fake chrome material that is used on grills and trim. Correct me if I`m wrong, but as far as I know there isn`t really any "correcting" you can do with that material right? I just want to get it looking as best it can before I put a sealant on it.

[Bill D]

I`d say you are correct. You can`t polish chrome plastic because polish can cut right through the chrome, best to just top it with a LSP like you plan.

[Accumulator]

Right. I clean it with an AIO (a relatively nonabrasive one like KAIO if I have reason to be extra careful) and then top with LSP. OR just clean it and coat it with something like OptiCoat.

[House of Wax]

I`ll give the KAIO a shot. I`ve got some of that already. Going to be going over everything with HD Nitro Seal

[brownbob06]

Ive never had a problem using never dull on it. I basically use the never dull as a cleaner and it takes bugs and stuff right off.

[Bunky]

I just use a cleaner wax.

[Swanicyouth]

I just replaced a grill because I ruined it trying to polish plastic chrome. I would just use an AIO by hand. If it has defects, you will have to replace it.

[Accumulator]

Ive never had a problem using never dull on it. I basically use the never dull as a cleaner and it takes bugs and stuff right off.



I`m leery of the Nevr Dull (never liked those cutesy spellings :rolleyes: ) as I`ve marred metal with it and I worry that the "chromed plastic" might be too fragile. IF it`s not too fragile, no worries; if it is too fragile you might not know until it`s too late.




I just replaced a grill because I ruined it trying to polish plastic chrome. I would just use an AIO by hand. If it has defects, you will have to replace it.



I have some rock-damaged places on the XJS`s upper grilled where the chrome-like finish is actually peeling off :eek: Trying to keep that car as original as possible (hey, it only has 18K miles) I applied many (and I don`t mean just six or eight ;) ) coats of KSG and it`s still OK years later. OK, that car basically doesn`t get driven, but still... I sure have to be oh-so-careful cleaning it, but it hasn`t gotten worse the way I`d expected. Doing the same thing with OptiCoat would`ve probably worked even better and I`ll probably try that the next time I do that car.

[C. Charles Hahn]

I`m leery of the Nevr Dull (never liked those cutesy spellings :rolleyes: ) as I`ve marred metal with it and I worry that the "chromed plastic" might be too fragile. IF it`s not too fragile, no worries; if it is too fragile you might not know until it`s too late.



I`ve never had that issue if I use a very light touch (as opposed to scrubbing with it like you would to remove oxidation from metal). As a chemical cleaner it`s great stuff.

[brownbob06]

Ill second this. It seems.to require almost no hard.scrubbing to pull bugs off. As long as im using a piece that`s fully saturated.

[Accumulator]

Glad to hear others aren`t having issues with the Nevr Dull. Heh heh, see why I use the term "Accumulator-proof" :o :chuckle:

[Junebug]

Just learned by accident that Meg`s Plastix works great on a lot of stuff like those chrome like grills and even textured black plastic. Use a dab on a damp towel and rub easy.

[brownbob06]

I used to use PlastX on windows very lightly (no pressure.) It wiped off fairly easily and left no streaks lol.