How to repair damage to chrome plated drain?

[jeb]

Hi there - I’m looking for advice to repair  laundry and shower chrome plated drains? They have been damaged by chemicals and I have attached pics to demonstrate.

I’ve seen others on this forum and others repair with spray paint however given the small area I was hoping for a paint I was touch up the damage especially in the shower one where the damage is very small. Thanks in advance! 

[EricL]

Hello @jeb 

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. It's wonderful to have you join us, and thank you for sharing your question about repairing damaged chrome waste.

The square waste in the floor with the tile in the middle is often made of stainless steel. I suggest rubbing the surface with Steel wool and see if you can scrub off the blemish on its surface. It might take some time so please be patient and keep scrubbing on the blemished spot.

You're second waste which is square but has a round cover on it is a chrome plated brass waste. The tarnish you're seeing in the corners is the chrome wearing away revealing the brass underneath.

If it is just a cosmetic fix, I recommend masking the area off so that you can spray the entire waste. I then recommend spraying the top with a clear coat so that it will have an extra layer of protection and not wear away immediately. Using a chrome or silver spray to touch up the corner is possible, but I can't make any guarantees as to how long it will last.

Here is a handy step-by-step guide: How to paint window frames (the techniques used are applicable to your floor waste)

If you have any other questions we can help with, please let us know.

Eric

[jeb]

Hi Eric, thanks for your speedy replay and great advice.

With the square waste with the tile in the middle - I can tell from touching the mark that the stainless steel has been damaged by the chemical so the coating is worn away, rather than it being a blemish. So if I rub the surface with steel wool, I’m expecting it to remove more of the stainless steel. 

With the second waste with that has the circular drain, do you recommend I use stainless steel first to prep or just go straight in with the clear spray then silver spray? Thanks again!

[MitchellMc]

Hi @jeb

Stainless steel isn't used as a coating, so you can't rub it off. What's the mark below that I've indicated in the image? Has the coating worn through, or is it a mark on the stainless?

I believe @EricL is recommending to tape off the area and then spray with chrome-coloured spray paint, and then once dry, spray over that with a clear coat. If you're afraid the steel wool will remove more of that coating then you could skip that step.

Mitchell

[jeb]

Hi Mitchell, re: drain with tile in the middle - yes the coating has worn through completely. I believe the mark/damage was caused from bleach.

re: drain with circle in the middle, no worries, I won’t use steel wool, I’ll go straight in with the spray. 

Thanks again