Try using crumbled AL foil instead. Cleans quite nicely without any scratches I can detect. Dip in water or chrome cleaner to help clean as well.

There are plenty of cleaning methods that work just as well or better, without causing the damage that steel wool does. Just because something already has scratches on it doesn't mean it's a good idea to add a few thousand more.

I've seen way too many chrome pieces ruined by some well-meaning person who "cleaned" them with steel wool. Oftentimes, the damage isn't too noticeable in low room lighting, but put the chrome under daylight and it's painfully obvious.

Has anyone tried bronze wool? Supposed to not leave any scratches.

Steel wool ,bronze, titaniam, whatever kind of wool will leave micro scratches on the surface of chrome, and this will look like a cloudy surface ,I can not believe people still want to do this to vintage or even newer chrome stands and gear DON"T you will in effect ruin the chrome as it will never have the shine that it could have by proper cleaning and polishing.

[COLOR="DarkRed"]Well, allow me to chime in as a rep of the opposite 'camp'. I do it and I think it's fine and I think this 'micro-scratches' and 'clouding' stuff is a bunch of hooey, quite honestly. Who cares about micro-scratches if they aren't visible to the eye ? Chrome plating is seriously hearty stuff, much more so than nickel, silver, etc....

It doesn't ruin chrome plating, yes it can reduce and remove some pitting, and indeed bronze wool is softer than steel so that is an option as well.

I have been doing this off and on for almost a decade now and I still have kits/hardware I did it on back then, and they still look great.[/COLOR]

You can buy that steel wool and soap combo in one that stuff works a treat and if tour hardware is that ****ed that you need to get rust off you may as well use it it cant make it worse

Chrome is an awfully hard and durable metal, but I'm tellin' you I've seen LOTS of chrome items damaged by steel wool. Sometimes it's not really obvious, sometimes it's almost painful to look at.

Personally, I prefer to use gentler cleaning methods.

Steel wool is satanic. I never use it unless......... something is rusted, pitted and peeled, beyond all salvation.

I frequently use 0000 steel wool in combination with a metal polishing compound to remove rust from parts too big to soak in EvapoRust. I try to not rub too hard or too long so as to not cause the "clouding" mentioned. Here's before / after pics of my original Ludwig 1400 cymbal stands that I cleaned up after they spent 45 years in the attic of our lead guitarist's house! They were covered with grime and deep rust pits. Clearly something had to be done...unless you look very closely the pits left by the rust are not noticeable. Of course, I avoid using steel wool on nickel plating.