Originally Posted by 2stroked

Let me see if I can address your concerns one at a time. First, the chrome bubbles. From what it sounds like, you’ve got small bubbles underneath your chrome plating. If that’s indeed the case, you have corrosion underneath the plating that’s causing the chrome layer (there are also Nickel and Copper layers) to pull away from the substrate. If this is the case, there’s not much you can do to reverse the situation. No polish or wax / sealer will reverse the corrosion and lay the plating back down. The best you can hope for here is to slow the overall process down. The best suggestion I’ve got here is regular waxing with a Carnuba or synthetic wax. Do NOT use steel wool because you’ll rip open the bubbles and further expose the substrate – and just accelerate the process.

It is corrosion, unfortunately. I am hoping to slow it down.




As for your aluminum, the first thing we need to do is determine if you have some type of finish on the aluminum (like anodizing or clear coat) or if it’s just polished. If your tube steps are Ford factory ones, they will have a clear coat. (All polished aluminum from the factory is clear coated.) If they’re aftermarket, there’s a 50/50 shot. If you have clear coat, your scratches are in that clear layer and something like Scratch-X might remove some of them. Follow this with a good wax. Be careful not to rub through the clear coat though. If you have just polished aluminum, you can polish it with one of the many aluminum polishes out here (Mothers, Wenol, Flitz, etc.), then apply a sealer like Zoop’s to keep it from re-oxidizing.