Tin Foil Remedy

[Fawlty]

The other day I was reading the Tips thread on the Suzuki Savage forum. Someone had posted that if you use a folded piece of tin foil, dip it in soapy water and use it to clean lightly rusted chrome parts, it does an excellent removal job, leaving no swirl marks etc.

Has anyone here tried this and with what results?

[jonathan180iq]

I've never heard of that. I'd be interested to see if anyone has any experience with it.

[Water Warrior 2]

Correct me if I'm wrong but hasn't tin foil morphed into aluminum foil over the years? As for the remedy itself I have never tried it but have read about it.
Any rust removal I have personally done was with a kitchen cleanser such as Comet and a damp soft cloth. My results were brilliant. :2tup:

[mrlmd1]

I tried that once and it didn't seem to do a thing. And as I remember, you were supposed to use the flat side of the foil, not the shiny side, and yes there is a difference if you look at it closely.
WW's remedy does work, and some people use steel wool and WD40 which also works pretty well. Oven cleaner (HCl) also works, just be careful and wear rubber gloves.

[jonathan180iq]

Steel wool and WD is my fav.

[mrlmd1]

My S50, being down on the coast in the salty moist air has decided to rust EVERYTHING recently - wheel spokes, chrome all peeling, from the triple tree and mirror stalks and luggage rack, even the SS exhaust pipes have specks of rust. The original Suzuki chrome as well as the better aftermarket stuff, makes no difference, despite waxing, polishing, etc. Unless I have the bike completely disassembled, sandblasted and then powder coated, there is no way to control this. It runs great, mechanically is perfect, but is beginning to look like shit.

[OldNTired]

The other day I was reading the Tips thread on the Suzuki Savage forum. Someone had posted that if you use a folded piece of tin foil, dip it in soapy water and use it to clean lightly rusted chrome parts, it does an excellent removal job, leaving no swirl marks etc.

Has anyone here tried this and with what results?

I've used that method on garden tools that have been left out in the rain. But, it works best if you crumple the foil.
For 'delicate' work, like a very light layer of rust, use a soft cloth, a bit of water, and toothpaste. Yes, use any toothpaste that claims to whiten your teeth. Make sure you rinse it off well.

[Wolver1]

I've used the aluminum foil method and it worked really well! Found the idea on a HD forum after promising my husband I'd wash and polish his bike... worked great on his lightly rusted spots and also worked great on the heavily rusted areas on my new GZ. It won't make the heavy areas perfect but it's waaaay better! Be sure to keep the foil wet, start with a light touch and increase pressure as needed. All those spokes are a pain no matter what you use to clean them.