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The best chrome cleaner for your car

  • Put a grin back on your car
  • Best chrome cleaners recommended
  • Paste and liquid options

Written by Ryan Gilmore Updated: 15 February 2024

There used to be a time when chrome was featured on pretty much every car and a bottle of chrome cleaner could be found on just about every garage shelf. Even the lowliest of city cars could be specified with a fair amount of brightwork to keep even the keenest of car polishers occupied. While chrome has fallen out of fashion in previous years, squint and you’ll see it affixed to a fair few cars.

The reflective properties of a chrome finish add a look of luxury, perhaps even elegance and sophistication, to a car, reflecting the halcyon days of car design when many of what we now consider to be classics featured extensive chrome detailing, which to this day evokes a sense of classic styling.

If you have chrome trim on your car you may be aware that the one downside is that it requires a specialised cleaner to keep that chrome sparkling – regular products can leave swirl marks and streaks. To get the best results make sure you use a high-quality microfibre cloth to do that final shine. Chrome can look stunning when it’s looked after which is why we’ve found the best chrome cleaners currently on sale.

The best chrome cleaners at a glance:

Editor’s choice: Autosol Liquid Chrome Cleaner – Buy now from Amazon UK
Best all-rounder: Autoglym Metal Polish – Buy now from Amazon UK
Best for tough marks: 3M Chrome and Metal Polish – Buy now from Amazon UK

The best chrome cleaners

Editor's choice
Price: $22.29
One of the most revered chrome cleaners on the market, Autosol Liquid Chrome Cleaner is our top choice for maintaining shiny chrome, tackling surface rust and fighting tarnishing. It can also be used to clean steel, brass, copper, chrome and aluminium.

Pros

  • Great results
  • Trusted brand

Cons

  • Not so good on heavy rust patches
Best for all polishable metals
Price: $35.95
If your car features other metals that require polishing too, then Autoglym’s Metal Polish could be your all-in-one solution. It’s perfect for use on brass, copper, stainless steel, chrome and aluminium, is really fast acting, and even leaves a protective layer of wax that should prevent the metal from tarnishing as quickly. And while other chrome cleaners here can be used on multiple metals, the protection offered by this cleaner makes it our top choice for cleaning metal.

Pros

  • Great all-rounder
  • Leaves a protective layer

Cons

  • Not so good for stubborn marks
Best for heavily tarnished chrome
Price: $18.52
Alternative Retailers
Walmart
$17.00
The most abrasive option for cleaning metal, this metal polish may dull your brightwork if you’re a little too aggressive with the polishing, but for restoring heavily tarnished metal nothing gets close. It’s also a paste which means less chance of spillage and wasted product, important considering it’s the most expensive option here.

Pros

  • Tough on rust
  • You don't need to use too much

Cons

  • No protective properties
Best chrome cleaner for light cleaning
This chrome cleaner is a foam that’s easy to apply and wipe away. It’s our top choice for light cleaning duties as it’s not abrasive and won’t dull chrome as it cleans it. That being said, it’s not much use on surface rust or tarnished chrome which means it’s best used on good condition metals only. It does at least provide a little layer of protection as it cleans.

Pros

  • Good for everyday cleaning
  • Easy to use

Cons

  • Not good on rust
Best budget chrome cleaner
Price: $20.28
If you’re after a real all-in-one solution for polishing trim pieces, this polish from Turtle Wax can treat all metals and chromed plastic trim too. It’ll help remove stains and marks and restore lost shine. It can also protect your chrome from rusting.

Pros

  • Great value
  • Good everyday all-rounder

Cons

  • Not good on tough marks

What if my chrome is too far gone?

If even the most abrasive of cleaners aren’t cutting through the worst rust, or the finish is starting to pit or flake away, there are still a couple of options for restoring the lost shine without needing to find the part number and shell out on a new part.

One option is using a stiff brush (a good nylon brush should be enough) to scratch away the worst of the rust and hope an abrasive chrome cleaner will be enough to bring it back, even if it’s a little duller.

The other option is to head to a specialist and pay for it to be re-chromed. The cost will depend on how large the piece is (a door handle will cost less than a bumper) but will have the chrome looking as good as new.

Ryan Gilmore is the Deputy Autos and Tools Editor for Parkers and CAR, specialising in car cleaning and hand tools. With an MA in Automotive Journalism, when he’s not testing buckets he can be found looking at old Porsches.

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