Simichrome Polish

I bought some old Dia Compe 980-R brakes on E-bay last week. They were made in 1983 and didn't seem to have been cleaned since. So I poured a glass of wine, sat down in the big leather chair, and started polishing one of them with Simichrome. In about 10 minutes it looked like... Well click on the photo to enlarge it and see for yourself.

The trick is to first use a scrap of very fine sand paper, about 400-grit, to get rid of any deep scratches. Then dap a drop of Simichrome on a piece of soft cotton cloth, like an old t-shirt and start polishing. The cloth should be about 6" x 6". Keep using the same piece over and over because the little Simi-particles build up on it and make polishing even faster with use. It doesn't take long to get an amazing shine.

Simichrome polish is made in Germany and it's not cheap, nor is it easy to find. But it is the best and a little lasts a long time once your cloth is saturated. It does a great job on non-anodized aluminum, chrome, brass, stainless steel, and silver. It also leaves a thin film that protects the metal. I've ordered a small case of 50 gram tubes for those of us who can't get it locally. It's $8.50 a tube and the usual $2 shipping for any quantity.