Cost: £10 – £15 per pot.
Date of Review: 3rd April 2017 (sunny warm day).
Background:
I have used many metal polishes, Autosol, #No1 Chrome cleaner etc. Most seemed to be OK, but a lot of work to get them clean. this was on offer at a car show so I thought I would give it a go.
The Sales Pitch From Auto Finesse:
The Auto Finesse Mercury Metal Polish is a metal polish that is suitable for all types of metals and vehicles. Mercury is perfect for car exhausts, trims, motorbike parts, motor home wheel trims and even the checker plate of the dirtiest of lorries.
Application:
Mercury is an easy to use quick acting metal polish and, unlike some metal polishes, comes in a light paste form so it is easy to use the right amount for any purpose. The light abrasives and solvents work quickly when teamed with either a foam applicator or microfiber cloth. Instantly you will see grime and oxidation removed from the metal’s surface and onto the applicator. Once wiped clean, Mercury reveals a factory-fresh look to any bright work. For Mercury, we recommend the use of an old microfiber that is past use on paint work.
Source: http://shop.autofinesse.co.uk
What You Get:
100ml of paste in a tin pot, that’s it.
Product Description:
This is a simple white paste, no fancy smells or odours, the closest I can think off is old school paraffin smell. I could be wrong as it was a very faint smell.
Instructions:
Application:
The compound is a cream style paste and is easily removed from the tin. The recommendation is for the exhaust tips and polished parts of the exhaust on motorbikes etc. The idea is to remove any tarnish and I thought some light scratches maybe could be removed.
I thought I would have a go on the front bumper as there are some real fine scratches on the metal surface. The application was by a standard round sponge pad, with a little pressure to get it into the bright shiny stuff. The paste could be applied quite sparingly as recommended and I left it to haze out before the final buff off.
If you look super close you can just about make out some light scratches. I also applied this to the screen polished stainless steel and anything chrome I could see.
Removing:
Take the microfiber cloth and gently buff it away. Turning the cloth repeatedly for the best effect. Here you can see the line where I stopped buffing the haze off.
Results:
A mixed bag as much as I could see. The tiny super fine scratches were still there and the shine was no brighter than it was before. The microfiber cloth was also clean which showed that there was no tarnish to remove.
The chrome did look nicer and freshened up, it didn’t give the shiny wow factor I was hoping for.
On the stainless steel there was no difference what so ever, the shine did not happen as I was sort of expecting it too, even if just a little. So in that respect I that respect I was disappointed, there was no shine after the buffing. In fact I didn’t even bother to take a picture before and after as there was no point. But, the cloth came away with a dirty mark from each of the stainless moulds I applied it too, therefore it must have cleaned something. If the paste has removed the bad stuff then that as is a good thing of course. I also used it on the exhaust tips, although the tips are not chrome, there was a tiny tarnish mark on the edges. I used this stuff and the brown marks came off and the tip once again looked clean with the silver paint showing as it should have been.
Rating: 7 out 10
This is only really for dirty tarnished bright work, not for existing polished chrome from I have discovered so far.
I have seen many videos of this working on tarnished chrome and it does look good after the process has been applied. For me there wasn’t much if anything to see above what I already had. The bumper still looked shiny and the stainless still looked like stainless, all be it now – but not super shiny. The fact the exhaust tips were cleaned back to their silver paint gave this the extra one mark I was intending to give it.
If I had paid full price I suspect I wouldn’t have been too impressed. Get it on a bargain then it’s worth while.
Ease of use –
Very easy to apply the smooth light paste. Simple buff of to a shine.
Conclusion:
A little disappointed and difficult to rate on what i had cleaned. I don’t have any seriously tarnished chrome to try it on properly. But the cloth tells me it is cleaning something as there are dirty metal stains on the application cloth.
To keep my chrome looking shiny I will continue to use the Mint Rims Wax to be honest.