The Deal

• $19 for one month of unlimited car washes ($49 value)

Car washes include interior vacuum, console cleaning, interior and exterior window cleaning, and interior and exterior car wash and towel dry. Groupon customers who wish to stay in the car wash club after their first month can also enjoy a discounted monthly rate of $29.99.

Chrome: Beauty and Brawn

A car wash or detail might revive the shine on sullied chrome, but that mirror-like material isn’t just for looks. Check out Groupon’s guide to the purpose and process behind a chrome finish.

A car’s gleaming grill or a motorcycle’s shining exhaust pipes sure look pretty, but chrome plating is just as much about function as it is about style. True to its name, chrome contains chromium—a hard, rust-resistant metal element that, when overlaid on another material such as nickel, steel, copper, or plastic, results in a bright and durable finish. This combination of a radiant, bluish-white sheen and resistance to corrosion has made chrome a popular coating for appliances, industrial tools, and—of course—automotive trim.

Chrome is applied using a process called electroplating. After a quick dip in acid to remove any oxides from its surface, the material is coated with copper and nickel and transferred to a solution of chromic acid and another catalyst. There, an electric current attracts charged chromium ions to the material’s surface, locking in the bright, silvery shine much as a coat of varnish locks in the pioneer spirit of a Lincoln Log.