A wool-based felt won't hold moisture. Foam will make mess later on, so best not to use.

Zach, the fine guys on this forum were kind enough to hand-walk me through my first rehab which was a troublesome & massive Slingerland set that was closer to the trash can than rehab. Advice here is second to none--period.

You have plenty of ammunition here to get you going on this rehab. If you get the rehab bug like I now have, you'll have interesting and fun work trying all the various techniques and products suggested here and you WILL find what works best for you.

When you have the time, you can search and read my input on a chrome surface cleaner polisher called Simmichrome. (Sorry, not tech savvy enough to know how to plug my own posts in another post. Search "Sold on Simmichrome"). This stuff, manufactured for chromes in the motorcycle biz, leaves a finish that literally gleams. What amazed me about the product was the dirt and residue this stuff pulled off the chromes AFTER I used the well-known widely-used automobile chrome polish.

A bit pricey and hard to find-You will be amazed and will lean on this when you tackle future rehabs that have chromes itchin' for a fight!

Good luck with your rehab. Dean

Thanks for the note, Dean. I saw Simichrome at the store when I bought all my finishing products but I had to balk at the price. It was over $20 for a 1.76 oz tube. It's really hard to argue with your results, though... after all the work you put into that Slingerland shell, the amount of gunk that still came off with the Simichrome is wild!

I'll second simichrone. Great stuff but I almost never need it.

Get a bottle of CLR from Home Depot, put it in an old plastic container with a lid and throw the plated parts in. I MIGHT use a dab of brasso if I feel the need but usually if the CLR doesn't take it off, it's not coming off.

It also strips most paint if you get a rattle can special kit to restore...

That's for chrome plated parts or the metal screws and washers?

You can use it for both; however avoid zinc plated parts as it will strip the zinc off.

If they were zinc but are now brown with rust, soak them, wash and dry them and spray them with silver spray paint.