Polished Chrome - (PC or CP)

What is Polished Chrome?

Most of the Polished Chrome items we sell are made from solid brass. Traditionally brass has been the best base material for chroming on to, as the brass could be highly polished to a smooth mirror finish so that when electro-plated, the best possible mirror finish polished chrome would be produced.

In recent years as raw material prices have risen the cost of brass has increased massively, manufacturers have had to try and source alternative base materials for chroming on to, to help keep their products competitively priced. We’re now seeing Polished Chrome plated on to base materials of Zinc Alloy, Mazac, Aluminium, and Stainless Steel with very good results that are almost identical to plating on to brass.

Please check individual products to see what base material they are made from.

What colour is Polished Chrome?

Polished Chrome has a highly shiny, smooth, mirror like finish that appears as a gorgeous shimmering silver. Polished Chrome has a very slight blue tint to it.

Is Polished Chrome Shiny?

Yes, the finish applied to Polished Chrome means it does appear as shiny, however, the production process is not always identical so some products may be slightly shinier than others.

Are there any other colours similar to Polished Chrome?

Yes, if you can’t find the item you are looking for in polished chrome, the next closest option is Polished Stainless Steel or Polished Nickel.

Ironmongery-Finishes-Polished-Stainless-Steel

Polished Chrome Polished Stainless Steel Polished Nickel

As you can see from the above images Polished Chrome has a blue tint to it while Polished Stainless Steel and Polished Nickel have more of a yellow tint to them

Polished Chrome vs. Chrome

Naturally, both finishes are very similar, particularly as Chrome is already a shiny and bright metal, but Polished Chrome is simply a brighter enhanced version that uses Chrome as its base material.

What are Polished Chrome products made from?

Please check individual products to see what base material they are made from.

How is the Polished Chrome finish produced?

Polished Chrome is an electro plated finish. Electro-plating is the process for producing electro deposited finishes on to a metal surface, commonly known as “plating.” The process consists of passing an electric current between anode and a cathode through a chemical solution. If you liken the set up to a car battery the anode is “positive” and the cathode is “negative.”

With chrome plating the anode is usually a lead rod and the cathode is the product being plated. The lead rod and the product are lowered into a vat containing a solution of chromic acid (or similar) the power is turned on and the current travels from the positive anode (the lead) through the solution, where particles of the chromium in the solution are carried and deposited as a thin layer on the negative cathode (the product.)

Before the chrome plating stage the base material of the product must be highly polished to help produce the mirror effect. Underneath the chrome plating layer will be electro-plated layers of copper and nickel which act as “primer coats” to help ensure the chrome is as hard-wearing and long lasting as possible.

Are all Polished chrome items the same colour?

Yes, the Polished Chrome finish is one of the few finishes that will look exactly the same across all products from all manufacturers. If you’re the type of person who must have everything matching and exactly the same, Polished Chrome is the finish for you.

Are Polished Chrome products suitable for outside use?

Yes, the chrome plating process is very hard-wearing and will help protect the base material well. The best chrome products to use externally are the items with a base material of brass.

Polished Chrome products fitted externally must be cleaned regularly to keep them looking shiny. With so much pollution in the air and acidity in the rain, if you don’t clean externally fitted items you will find the chrome will start to “pit” and eventually start to wear off. A quick regular clean with a soft cloth and wax based furniture polish to remove dirt and water marks will ensure your chrome products will look as good as new for a very long time.

How to clean and maintain Polished Chrome products?

Polished chrome products should be cleaned regularly with a soft cloth and wiped over with a wax based furniture polish ideally beeswax, but products like “Pledge” and “Mr Sheen” work well too. For stubborn stains warm soapy water can also be used.

For items fitted outside if you start to see pitting marks in the chrome a metal polish such as “Brasso” or “Peek” can be used to polish the layer of chrome.

Regular cleaning to remove dirt, finger prints and water marks will ensure your polished chrome products will last for a very long time.

Which companies supply Polished Chrome products?

More or less all of the companies we deal with manufacture and supply polished chrome products