I always start with regular old white vinegar from the kitchen... if I need to get tough I use a cleaning product called CLR for (calcium lime rust). Stay away from the more industrial strength products such as muriatic acid, the vapors will turn chrome black and eat your lungs. And don't even try paint stripper, the active ingredient in many of those products is methylene chloride, which will remove paint, oxidation and rust, your kidneys and your liver may disappear too!

Glen

+1 on the white vinegar. I've also had some impressive results with Evaporust, available at Ace Hardware stores. This product is non-toxic, easy to use, and odor free.

Jeremia, email me, I will go over the process with in detail.

These are before and after pics of the center trunk part of a bass pedal. I used Krud Kutter's Must for Rust and Grade #0 steel wool that I got at Home Depot. It works fairly well, but the smell will repel all creatures within a fifty foot radius - including wives and children.

Like Rocketman I find Evap-o-Rust a very impressive product. You need to be patient and let the parts soak sometimes overnight, but it works (and doesn't smell bad)! I never use steel wool courser than #0000.

I NEVER use steel wool on chrome. No matter what anyone says, it DOES cause microscopic scratches to the surface, which in turn causes the chrome to look "hazy", or satin like in finish. I can tell you with 100% accuracy and confidence that steel wool will ruin chrome, nickel, brass, copper, any bright, shiny metallic type finish. Don't believe it? Take a piece of chromed plastic and take some steel wool to it, you will see the difference, if you do only a part of it. Chromed plastic uses the same process for chroming as metal, so it is a thin layer of metal.

Take it to a brand new piece of chromed hardware and you will Really learn the lesson......

again no steel wool on chrome .........soft tooth brush and chrome cleaner no Windex it green out the chrome from the ammonia

Recently cleaned up some mid sixties "vintage" Rogers that had some rust, and what seemed like pitting. I used a mild rubbing compound, and then amazingly I scraped the pits off with my fingernail. The pits never really penetrated, they where sitting on top of the chrome! What I thought was toast was restored almost back to new. These days when that cheap chrome pits, that's it. Kiss it goodbye. Kiss