pflaming Posted October 2, 2009 Report Share Posted October 2, 2009 Will start a new thread on this. Summary: Yesterday I saw a friend take tin foil to polish a very rusty chrome fender on a child's tricycle. Yes, It was common household tinfoil. It took very little time and amazingly cleaned up like new, smooth and very shiny. I do not know why, but I reason that tinfoil must be 'soft' yet it is a metal, so it cannot harm the chrome. I am going to try it on anything shiny on my truck. Another trick: use ashes from your fireplace and newspaper (no water) to clean glass. Going to use that on my glass: windows, dash, headlights, etc. Good luck, let us know what kind of results you get. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norm's Coupe Posted October 2, 2009 Report Share Posted October 2, 2009 Don't know about the tin foil. But.........using ashes and dry paper could possibly leave scuff marks on the glass, especially if done on a regular basis. Ashes are abrasive. When in the Army during basic training we were also told we could clean our mess kits with sand if in a desert and had no water to do it with. That did clean the mess kits, but it also left a scuffed surface on the aluminum mess kit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TodFitch Posted October 2, 2009 Report Share Posted October 2, 2009 I haven't seen "tin" foil in the stores in ages. All we have is aluminum foil. Is that what you mean? Aluminum foil appears to be a rather soft alloy... I wonder if you are actually rubbing aluminum into the scratches of the chrome (which is hard) and filling in the defects. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norm's Coupe Posted October 2, 2009 Report Share Posted October 2, 2009 Tod, You are probably right about the aluminum simply rubbing off onto the chrome. That said. As far as using "Tin" foil, he was probably talking about "Aluminum" Foil too. It's just that some of us old fogies are use to using the term "Tin" foil.:D I know I still use the tin foil term myself from time to time, as I did in my first reply, even though I was thinking about aluminum foil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pflaming Posted October 2, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 2, 2009 Going to check out the 'aluminum' vs 'tin' and will probably find I revealed my age. Wife cleaned the glass door on the firebox with ashes and newpaper for ten years. May have had more scratches than I noticed. Will double check that also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P-12 Tommy Posted October 2, 2009 Report Share Posted October 2, 2009 I tried the aluminum foil trick today on some speckled surface rust on one of the front bumper wings and it came right off. Learn something new everyday!! Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tinlizzy Posted October 2, 2009 Report Share Posted October 2, 2009 Be very careful using ashes. They are caustic and cause skin burns and might possibly damage the paint if spilled on same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
claybill Posted October 3, 2009 Report Share Posted October 3, 2009 i dont think there ever was a real 'tin foil'. wasnt it always aluminum? even back in the WWll days.? bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Young Ed Posted October 3, 2009 Report Share Posted October 3, 2009 Tinfoil or tin foil is a thin leaf made of tin. Actual tin foil was superseded by cheaper and more durable aluminium foil after World War II, and aluminum foil is sometimes confused with "tin foil" because of its similarity to the former material. [edit] History Foil made from a thin leaf of tin was commercially available before its aluminium counterpart. In the late 19th century and early 20th century, tin foil was in common use, and some people continue to refer to the new product by the name of the old one. Tin foil is stiffer than aluminium foil. It tends to give a slight tin taste to food wrapped in it, which is a major reason it has largely been replaced by aluminium and other materials for wrapping food. The first audio recordings on phonograph cylinders were made on tin foil. Tin was first replaced by aluminium starting in 1910, when the first aluminium foil rolling plant, “Dr. Lauber, Neher & Cie., Emmishofen.” was opened in Kreuzlingen, Switzerland. The plant, owned by J.G. Neher & Sons (aluminium manufacturers) started in 1886 in Schaffhausen, Switzerland, at the foot of the Rhine Falls - capturing the falls’ energy to produce aluminium. Neher's sons together with Dr. Lauber discovered the endless rolling process and the use of aluminium foil as a protective barrier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobT-47P15 Posted October 3, 2009 Report Share Posted October 3, 2009 I've heard of using newspaper like a paper towel to wipe off windex when washing windows. But never heard of using ashes. Guess I'm old too.......I often call it "tin foil". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobertKB Posted October 3, 2009 Report Share Posted October 3, 2009 Tin foil to me as well. I am going to try this on the tired chrome bumpers on my original '53 Plymouth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norm's Coupe Posted October 3, 2009 Report Share Posted October 3, 2009 Seems like Young Ed has been leading us all on, making us believe he's so young. I say that because only someone who lived the tin foil era could explain it so well.:D Think I'll try that on some chrome pieces myself. Have some extra glove box chrome in a drawer. Not the best you'll ever find, should be re-plated. Maybe the old aluminum foil trick will make it nice and shinny again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerseyHarold Posted October 3, 2009 Report Share Posted October 3, 2009 The aluminum is abrasive to some degree...aluminum oxide sandpaper, for example. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TodFitch Posted October 3, 2009 Report Share Posted October 3, 2009 The aluminum is abrasive to some degree...aluminum oxide sandpaper, for example. So you shouldn't use silicone lubricants because silicon dioxide is an abrasive? Gee, I'll have to throw out that can of spray lubricant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pflaming Posted October 3, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 3, 2009 For those who think 'tin foil' is dated, try this. "Once I had a wooden whistle and it wooded whistle, then I got a 'tin' whistle and now I tin whistle"!!!:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kencombs Posted October 3, 2009 Report Share Posted October 3, 2009 Not to be a wise *** but, they are totally different things. So you shouldn't use silicone lubricants because silicon dioxide is an abrasive? Gee, I'll have to throw out that can of spray lubricant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oldguy48 Posted October 3, 2009 Report Share Posted October 3, 2009 I dunno...I went out to the garage with a wad of aluminum foil to try out the idea on my P15 bumpers. They're in pretty good shape, but could use some polishing. I didn't see any improvement in the appearance of the chrome, in spite of rigorous rubbing with the aluminum foil. Maybe I'll try again tomorrow when I have a bit more time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TodFitch Posted October 4, 2009 Report Share Posted October 4, 2009 Not to be a wise *** but, they are totally different things. Of course. And so are pure (or relatively so) aluminum as found in aluminum foil and aluminum oxide. Which was the point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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