I am hoping someone will have some expert thoughts on how to treat the chrome on the foot of a Guzzini Brumbury lamp.
When I bought the lamp, the chrome had spots; no real rust, just a lot of tiny spots. I went to a specialist shop for advice and was told to first sand the chrome very gently with very fine steel wool, and then treat it with a desoxidizing gel for a couple of minutes, and rinse with alcohol.
I scrupulously followed this advice. With disastrous results.
The steel wool did indeed clear up the spots almost entirely. But the desoxidizing gel (brand 'les frères Nordin', no further info on the composition) left the chrome "veiled". In several places it now looks like unpolished silverware. I tried some polish on it, but with no result whatsoever.
I am hitting myself over the head for not stopping after the sanding, and wondering if there is still something I can do. I know chrome is very delicate. Are there other products or tricks I could try? I have heard of a product called "Commandant"?
I may add that I first tried out the gel on some invisible chrome parts on the inside of shade and it worked fine there. Ditto on the top of the shade. But this was probably not the exact same kind of chrome as the foot.
Any suggestions will be much appreciated!
(I tried to take pictures, but they don't show much because of the reflections. "Like unpolished silverware" comes closest to what the chrome looks like).
water and foil question
Thanks everyone for the suggestions. I'll give the polish a try.
About the water and foil: how would I do this? wet the chrome and rub with foil? And would this work on pitting only, or also on the stains? As I said, the pitting is almost gone, the problem are the "unpolished silver like" stains.
It might be permanent.
While chromium is one of the hardest materials known, all chrome plating is not created equal. It sounds like there was a chemical reaction between the cleaning solution and the metallic plating.
There are products that are designed to brighten or restore discolored chrome motorcycle exhaust pipes that might help, but my guess is that the part may need replating.
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