How2 Chrome/Polish your roof bars (In depth...)

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wingz123
Too much time on your hands
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Joined: Fri Jul 20, 2012 6:58 am
Passat model: B5 110 TDi
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How2 Chrome/Polish your roof bars (In depth...)

Post by wingz123 »

SKILL LEVEL REQUIRED - NOVICE

Good evening all,

As many will know, I own a navy blue B5.5 VW Passat TDi estate. It was suggested to me that I
chrome up the roof rails on the car to lighten it up a little although when advised, was not
entirely sure how to go about doing this or feared that maybe I could cause more damage....However it could not be
easier!!

I know alot of people consider this but are not always sure where to start, so to help, I
thought I might chip in with my 5 pence and put together a brief how-to guide for any that wish
to attempt this...

As previously mentioned, I offer a service myself where I will carry out the
manual work required to turn your roof bars from the standard, dull black colour to a bright chrome
mirror finish...All work carried out by hand and not an electrical tool in sight!

When doing so, I like to seal and protect by applying 6/7 layers of wax, sealant and polish to get them
looking good...

PM me if you are interested in this... ;)...also wrote about it in this post >>
(viewtopic.php?f=8&t=55388)

Sitting comfortably?....Ok well here goes...

Your will need the following to hand...

320 Grit Wet & Dry Paper x2 A4 Sheets - about 80p each
400 Grit Wet & Dry Paper x2 A4 Sheets
1200 Grit Wet & Dry Paper x2 A4 Sheets
Bowl of clean water
AutoSol Metal Polish
AutoGlym Super Resin Polish
PoorBoys Ex Sealant
Collinite 476
Foam Applicator Pads
Microfibre Cloths


1. Remove them from the car (alot easier to work on)....3 plastic covers...slide them off and 13mm nut under each cover
I left the middle nut until last and then lifted off...

2. Next fill a bowl of clean water and get your wet and dry paper at the ready... - I start with 320 grit wet and dry paper

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Move up and down the roof rail starting at either end...

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After 5 minutes of sanding, the paint was dripping off and dripping on my laminate flooring... (so you may want to put
down an old towel - I was doing inside the house as weather is too cold to outside in the shed!)

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After 10 minutes of sanding the roof bar we were starting to expose the bear metal underneath. Before you reveal
the metal as the black paint on the surface thins, it will look like it is turning a light
browny colour..

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This is why I advise putting a towel down.....OOoops!!

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Once you have revealed the metal underneath...it will look something like this...

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3. Once you have removed all of the paint, it will look a little cloudy and there will be fine scratches on the roof bar so
now you need to start bringing the shine up so I went on to use 400 grit wet and dry
paper...you will then start to notice the difference...

4. After this....I went straight for the 1200 grit wet and dry paper and spent a good hour
up and down the bar...

Spend the time on the bar and it will start looking seriously good!!

Next I get these babies out...

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...all of which can be purchased from Cleanmycar.com or I normally get straight onto EBay and
search through the Buy-It-Now's and filter by "price+P&P lowest first". The cheapest on EBay can be found at the following
links:-

AutoSol Metal Polish

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Autosol-Solvo ... 43ab7427c0
Item Number - 290639325120
Price - 3.94

AutoGlym Super Resin Polish

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/autoglym-supe ... 337d7d8729
Item Number - 221148710697
Price - 5.40

PoorBoys EX Sealant

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Poorboys-EX-S ... 43b44b2267
Item Number - 290787631719
Price - 12.95

Collinite 476

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Collinite-Sup ... 1c2d07a548
Item Number - 121014560072
Price - 16.40

Total (inc Postage) = 38.69


5. Apply the metal polish with a foam applicator and leave it to dwell/cure for 20 minutes.....then when turned hazey
rub off with a microfibre polishing cloth and buff...

Repeat this 3 times.....

Then apply Autoglym Super Resin Polish and leave for 5-10 minutes to cure/dwell...repeat this twice.

Once you have rubbed this off I apply PoorBoys EX Sealant and leave for 1 hour to cure/dwell

The next step is then to apply Collinite 476 and leave for 30 minutes

Afterwards....I then apply another coat of PoorBoys EX Sealant and leave for another hour to seal in all of the polish and
wax that has been applied..

Finally I apply another 2 coats of Autoglym Super Resin Polish and leave for 20 minutes for each coat...

.....and hey presto!!!!!! Your are done!!!....Admire your handy work!!! The above is the same process I use for protecting
everything on the car - alloys, bodywork, arches etc.etc.

I wash my car every week and do near on 1,000 motorway miles per week. With all the salt and poo on the road at this time of
year it gets filthy quickly! Everytime you wash the car, finish off by buffing the rails and adding a layer of protection with
either AutoSol Metal Polish or AutoGlym Super Resin Polish - the choice is yours!...I would recommend the AutoSol Metal Polish as I feel it buff's
up a little shinnier than the AutoGlym Super Resin Polish...

Fitted to the car it will look like this....(NOTE - you will need to purchase the W8 plastic covers from TPS (Trade Part Specialists - subsidary of VAG group)
or a VW dealership..(the ones you removed were factory black) or you could purchase some spray paint and paint the black plastic covers yourself,
however I opted for the easier option and ended up purchasing from TPS. They were 50.85 in total (inc VAT) and VW were quoting me 61 pounds (inc VAT)

The end result..... Well worth it :) :) :) :)

Stand back and Enjoy!!!.........Now it looks like you have an Audi ;)
UPDATE!! -I now have access to over 90 vans direct from one of the leading leasing companies - Just ask! - Relays,Sprinters,Caddy's,Transits etc.

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