Chrome protection question

[1978c81 385]

Does anyone have any recommendations on what to put on chrome to protect from the condensation from the temperature changes while tractor is in storage?

[857 horse 2,588]

Back in the day....when we stored old chrome reverse wheels or Cragar mags,,,,we would clean them and put on a coat of wax.....and leave the wax on while stored.....Buff it off then we were ready to use the wheels....

[Bigfish 146]

Cooking spray, Mineral oil, oil, wax, wd40, food sealer, whatever seals the surface from O2 and H2O.

["D"- Man 827]

I really wonder if it may depend on the condition of the chrome parts to be stored, as far as what level of protection would be needed.  I recently picked up some of the parts I had plated at the chrome shop.  They were polishing the chrome parts with McGuire's Magnesium and Aluminum polish.  I asked them about a manifold that they plated with a decorative polished copper, it had sat for a while after it was finished, so they instructed me to polish it and then apply a protective coating on it to keep it from future tarnishing.  I just used a high heat clear spray.  

[DennisThornton 4,771]

Most any type of wax.  

[Bigfish 146]

That clear isnt as high temp as you think. I coated a stainless steel grill side table (18/10) so I didnt have to mess with it. A month later the edges closest to the fire box dis-colored yellow. Might not make a difference with copper but stainless it did. Paint scraper, and 320 and bartenders friend made it good again. 

Edited August 4, 2016 by Bigfish

[DennisThornton 4,771]

3 minutes ago, Bigfish said:

That clear isnt as high temp as you think. I coated a stainless steel grill side table (18/10) so I didnt have to mess with it. A month later the edges closest to the fire box dis-colored yellow. Might not make a difference with copper but stainless it did. Paint scraper, and 320 and bartenders friend made it good again. 

Yeah, don't use anything that won't dissolve in common solvents, like clear coat paints.  Waxes easily dissolve and don't need to be "stripped" like coatings when some touch up polishing is in order.  Coatings may last longer than waxes but require much more effort when the time comes to restore.  I'm not a fan of clear coats unless the expected environment will never cause them to fail.

[C-101plowerpower 1,606]

7 hours ago, 23 Automatic LSE said:

I really wonder if it may depend on the condition of the chrome parts to be stored, as far as what level of protection would be needed.  I recently picked up some of the parts I had plated at the chrome shop.  They were polishing the chrome parts with McGuire's Magnesium and Aluminum polish.  I asked them about a manifold that they plated with a decorative polished copper, it had sat for a while after it was finished, so they instructed me to polish it and then apply a protective coating on it to keep it from future tarnishing.  I just used a high heat clear spray.  

 

 

i like the look of that, guessing its the hydro manifold for the 23LSE?

["D"- Man 827]

1 hour ago, C-101plowerpower said:

 

 

i like the look of that, guessing its the hydro manifold for the 23LSE?

Thanks, yes that is correct.

["D"- Man 827]

9 hours ago, Bigfish said:

That clear isnt as high temp as you think. I coated a stainless steel grill side table (18/10) so I didnt have to mess with it. A month later the edges closest to the fire box dis-colored yellow. Might not make a difference with copper but stainless it did. Paint scraper, and 320 and bartenders friend made it good again. 

The clear I used is for engines, I also have a hydro cooling fan that is switched on via a thermo-coupled switch.

[doc724 925]

Find the local Harley club.  Those owners spend a ton of time keeping their machines pristine and they also do not ride them in the winter.