I was also as skeptical as you are, and the fact is the aluminum does NOT scratch the chrome, I first tested it on my pearl metal chrome drums, worked on one side with the coke method, the other side with turtlewax chrome polish. The coke worked much better for the rust, I then looked under natural light, flouresant light, every angle, and not a micro scratch anywhere, keep in mind I have OCD and I'm a perfectionist, I meticulious when it comes to cleaning, trust me I would not post this if I were not 100% positive it was safe and works............when I get done and post pics you better wear sun glasses, because the chrome will shine so bright it will blind you...LOL!!!!!

They are your drums, do what you want with them.

I'd rather not take the chance with mine when there are alternative methods that work perfectly well and are not questionable.

I'm curious as to why the OP stated use regular coke and not diet. It's not the sugar in the drink that cleans, it's the phosphoric acid in the mixture. Diet coke would be less likely to leave a sticky film behind if you failed to rinse it well.

As for just regular polish, I have found that the Honda polish in the spray can works wonders on drum hardware and cymbals. That is what I will use on the old Supra I'm receiving next week.

You should see how it shines up a motorcycle!

A little side by side on Dawn and Coke I did a while back.... just sharing for fun.

http://www.vintagedrumforum.com/showthread.php?t=6445&highlight=dawn&page=2

Just want to show what I did with som very ugly looking parts from my Slingerland snare last week. I simply used Vinegar (hmm...my translation program says "spirit vinegar") poured it over the rusty parts, and let it soak for about three hours. Pictures are before and after. Third picture of the rusty nail is after I left it dipped in vinegar over night.

/Johan M

Whoa! The nail 1/2 in and 1/2 out picture really tells the difference. Now again something new to experiment with.

Wow Forti, Looks like that snare hardware came from the ship's band.....on the Titanic! Would have never thought vinegar would be that effective.

Just to clearify my earlier post. I was a bit confused over the term "Vinegar".

What I use is "spirit vinegar", normally used for cooking or pickling.

It's a solution of water and 12% acetic acid. This can be bought in any foodstore, at least here in Sweden.

The hardware and the nail in my pictures have just soaked in the spirit vinegar, -No scrubbing, brushing or any form of mechanical cleaning.

/Johan M

You can also buy 100% acetic acid and mix with water. Google "glacial acetic acid", you will find it sold by photography suppliers for about $40 per gallon. That is enough to make 20 gallons of a solution as strong as apple cider vinegar, or about 10 gallons of spirit vinegar strength.

I just used coke to clean some cymbal stands. I needed something cheap enough to get in large quantities so I could soak a bunch of stands for 24 hours. I got great results. Coke has phosphoric acid, and is more acidic than apple cider vinegar (pH of 2.5, ac vinegar is 4-5). I'm going to try getting pure phosphoric acid and diluting it, or buying one of the phosphoric acid based cleaners that are widely available.

What I have used in the past, with very good success: I mix a goo-like substance consisting of equal parts Dawn and any good rust removal gel together. Parts can be soaked in the mixture overnight or it can be dabbed on. The next day, wipe it off completely with a soft cloth. Finally, I use Turtle Wax Chrome Polish and Rust Remover for the final touches. It's a bit of work but, it accomplishes the job!

Brian