How To Remove Rust From Chrome Furniture
Revive rusted furniture with one household item and…
When I stumbled across a set of chrome and leather chairs at my local tip shop, I fell madly in love with the shape. But upon closer inspection, the leather was dirty and the chrome was riddled with rust. Regardless, I was blindly in love with them and up for the challenge. I took the chairs home and decided to try a few different approaches for ridding the beautiful chrome chair of rust for good. I also received lots of tips from my lovely community over on Instagram and ended up having a blast trying everyones suggestions, which included aluminium foil with Coca-Cola, tomato sauce (I totally thought this was someone playing a prank on me), white wine vinegar, bicarbonate soda and water. Uh huh! Read on to find out which method I found to be best.
And make sure to watch this “how to” video.
How To: Remove Rust From Chrome Furniture
Which method for removing rust from chrome furniture is best?
Aluminium foil with Coca-Cola: I found this combination worked really well, however it was very sticky and messy. I ended up having to remove the sticky chrome clean with a damp cloth, which added an extra step in the removal of the rust and grime. When I had removed the rust, I polished the chrome using a dry microfibre cloth.
Aluminium foil with bicarbonate soda: This method worked well. I also like that these are two items most people will have in their homes, which will save you a trip to the supermarket. If you don’t have bicarb soda, baking powder will also produce the same results. When I had removed the rust, I polished the chrome using a dry microfibre cloth.
Aluminium foil with tomato sauce: At first I thought someone was playing a joke on me, but then stranger things happen in the world of DIY so I was ready to dive in and give it a go. As with the Coca-Cola, I found this method very sticky and messy. All I kept thinking of was a Bunnings sausage - ha! And it ended up looking like a crime scene I ended up having to remove the sticky chrome clean with a damp cloth, which added an extra step in the removal of the rust and grime. When I had removed the rust, I polished the chrome using a dry microfibre cloth.
Aluminium foil with water: I found this worked really well. Less fuss, no funky smells or sticky chrome residue, no extra cleaning.
Aluminium foil with white wine vinegar: Even though this made me crave salt and vinegar chips while I was trying this method, I found it also worked well. However I did have to clean the vinegar from the chairs, so that added an extra step.
Aluminium foil: This didn’t work too well. It did a good job to create friction (and a really annoying squeaking noise) but that’s about it. I found that the addition of liquid is necessary.
Another two suggestions came through on Instagram which I didn’t get to try and they were aluminium foil with lemon juice ad Dawn Power Wash Spray. Let me know if you try these!
My Verdict
Aluminium foil and water won by a long shot. But honestly, any type of liquid seemed to do a good job. The aluminium foil provides friction to scrub the rust and grime, while the liquid helps to lift the rust and grime. I just found that water was the less messy, smelly and sticky option that didn’t require an additional cleaning step. Plus aluminium foil is a household item almost everyone is not all will already have at home, so the cost to restore and revive chrome furniture is virtually nil.
Project Details
♻️ Restoring: Chrome furniture
🕒 Project Time Estimate: 30 mins
💰 Materials Cost: $3
Materials
Bowl of water
Aluminimum foil
Clean dry cloth
Clean dry Microfibre cloth is preferable, or a clean dry cotton cloth
How To
Step 1: If you have read the materials list, you will see that you only need aluminium foil and water. Woo hoo! Fold a small sheet of aluminium foil in half, cup it in your hand, pour water on top and then place it over the chrome and move it up and down in a quick sweeping motion. Continue until the rust and grime is removed.
NB: You will need to use a few pieces of aluminium foil to clean an entire piece of chrome furniture as it becomes less effective after a section is cleaned.
Step 2: For more difficult rust spots, repeat the step above.
Step 3: Wipe the excess water from the chrome with a clean cloth and then polish the chrome with a microfibre cloth until it’s nice and shiny. A dry, clean cotton cloth will also polish chrome but it might take a bit longer.
Ta daaaa!
I cannot believe how clean, and sparkling, and gorgeous these chairs look! After trying so many different methods including tomato sauce and CocaCola, in the end it came down to one household item (aluminium foil) and water - so good! If I had known how easy it was to clean chrome furniture, I wouldn’t have avoided it for so long.
Anyway, I am so excited for the next step in restoring and reviving these chrome chairs - painting the leather! Stay tuned for Part Two.
