Technical Spray on Chrome ??... Has anyone used it ??...

The guy that did mine said that it could be top coated with urethane clear, but the " brilliance" would be reduced. There is clear on it already, but not a lot.
Above is no flash and below is with flash.

I'm not selling ; this is just how mine came out.

 

Anyone tried the stuff Eastwood sells? I was thinking about trying it on some parts on my 40 chev. It's going to be a gasser and no where near a show car.

 

I like the link. Getting a quote for my rusted cragar s/s that I've tried to clean up.


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What about using chrome wrap? They do complete cars, and is most likely more durable. Small pieces could be done at home.

 

It's diluted Ferric Chloride, you can also purchase the chemicals off the shelf here: http://angelgilding.com/silver-remover.html

Yeah, that was me Who started the thread...

I am now working on a DIY Electroless Nickel/Cobalt process that should render Spray on Chrome a thing of the past, as it' real Nickel(if you want Nickel) or real Cobalt(if you would like to replace chromium) that is being deposited on the piece instread of fragile Silver,

Here is a nice video of the electroless nickel being applied by spraying


and here by submersion


Here I got the chemicals off the shelf(from Caswel plating and Angel Gilding)





I also purchased the individual chemicals to see if it's the same



So Far So Good..

 

Has anyone used this product?

 

I have had my eye on this for a few years, I am getting close to pulling the trigger. Last year I had 3 grand set aside for the bumpers on my 53 when we found the 50 for the same price.

I think I can do the spray on chrome bumpers on the 53 and air conditioning in our 55 Lincoln for the same price as real chrome. I have been hesitant because I typically don't operate that way.

 

I have, received a sample directly from Ike banoun(Alsa's Owner), it's super cool looking in the videos and in real life, but it's paint not real metal bein deposited(as opposed to Electroless Nickel)

 

I have seen a pair of "HYDRO chrome" wheels that have been on a '62 Dodge SS for at least 7 years and it has been out in the wind , rain and scorching sun with no sign of tarnish , or peeling . It completely fooled me as I was sure they were real chrome skinny steel wheels. They were on Bob Moshers car at Moshers Mopars in Arcadia ,CA. Bob could not remember who did the spray on chrome so we got on the computer and started looking up different keywords and discovered the process that I had never heard of called HYDRO chrome. There are a ton of demonstrations on YouTube and how this product works and no it is not a paint! It is a water and silver nitrate process that floods on various chemicals neutralizers and silver nitrate in a dripping wet spray on solution. It is totally amazing and I having seen the wheels can swear by the durability of it and with the price of chrome here in California the next piece I'm going to do will be with this HYDRO plating process .I just read about one of the members on this thread is experimenting with using nickel right now . I do know that both silver and nickel will tarnish so it really depends on the clear that is sprayed on it. As most painters already know urethane clear is too heavy and looks fake when it is sprayed over chrome or any polished metal.The secret to protecting the hydro chroming is some kind of water thin UV clear lacquer and this is from what I understand from hours and hours of reading up on the subject. I have sprayed lots of clear lacquer over polished copper , brass etc. many years ago and it does not affect the look at the metal rather it just puts a protective coating on it and does not have that heavy look of urethane clear. For anybody thinking about using this product or having it done on some parts by somebody already set up with the process I would not hesitate ....it looks awesome and seems to be quite durable but again depending on the clear that is applied


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What about using a wrap that has a chrome finish? I know nothing would be as good or durable as chrome, but do any of the wraps like they wrap entire cars in work in some places?

 

Nickel does tarnish over a period of time, but Nickel does it at a much lower pace, I have done both Silver(Spray on chrome) and Nickel(electroless) and left them both without a protective top coat and my silvered pieces tarnish bad on the third day, Nickel looks like new weeks after it has been deposited, now since this process is like spray on chrome, where the base coat receiving the nickel needs to be mirror like and the actual nickel is not deposited for hours(like 2-3 minutes at most) the Nickel or Cobalt(for a true chrome look) need to be clear coat it with a water thin UV clear of course.


Spray on chrome and electroless nickel/cobalt are as strong as the top coat that protects it(though nickel is much stronger than Silver), with that in mind experimenting with Powder Coating Systems would be the next logical step on increasing the durability of the coating specially in Wheel rims, would be a real alternative to PVD Chrome wheels at a fraction of the cost.

PVD Chrome wheels

 

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Would like to find out more on this.

 

I've studied the process of PVD chrome (http://americanpvd.com/pvd-chrome/) And I believe a similar and cost effective alternative can be produced on a budget, using a basic powder coating setup.


(Patent US6399152 Goodrich Technology Corporation for reference only ) The Summary of the process is: "An organic epoxy, thermosetting powder base coat is applied to smooth the surface to a glass-like finish and to ensure adhesion of the metal coatings. A two part metal coating is then applied via a PVD process, consisting of a Ni/Cr base and a Cr layer. A protective acrylic, thermosetting topcoat is then applied to protect the metal coating layers".


Now of course we don't have the budget to buy a PVD Coating machine for wheels, so what we do is skip the vacuum metalizing process and replace it with a chemical metalizing process that rely on a chemical process to produce a mirror effect on the wheel, the wheel is then clear coat it to protect it.


For base coat I am thinking of using Mirror Black - Polyester TGIC to produce a glass like finish, then apply either Spray On Chrome(Silver) or electroless Nickel/Cobalt, then top coat it with Acrylic clear powder or Translucent candy powders

 

I have a spectrachrome machine and water filtration setup for sale if anyone is interested. I was using cosmichrome materials DM if interested located in KCMO

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Yes It is supposed to be coated with a special water thin UV clear Lacquer .
I'm hearing all kinds of opinions and even I was opposed to it and stated so in this thread but since then I have seen A pair of 4 by 16" steel rims that I could swear were real electroplated chrome but I was fooled . These wheels have been out in the weather for at least 7 years and look perfect. !! This has totally changed my opinion but I am positive that the longevity depends on the type and application of the clear coating.


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Here is a nice video of a friend in Russia that is using the Electroless Nickel process on wheels, he uses room temperature electroless nickel(no need to heat the sulution)



Benefits of Nickel/Cobalt over Silver:

Nickel Sulfate is about 100 times less expensive than Silver Nitrate.
The Bath can be used over and over until it's depleted(once silver nitrate comes in contact with the reducer the bath is done for)
No special equipment is required(just a tub large enough for pieces)

And while Nickel has a soft tone compared to real chrome, I think it looks more elegant, but if you are set on a realistic chrome look you can use Cobalt sulfate instead of Nickel sulfate

 

why are you selling? ive been looking into this for a while , did it not work? was it too costly? please let me know thanks. im an awesome body guy, I know you have to prep the part like doing body work.

 

I was offering this service through my shop but it became more time consuming than I expected. For the parts to come out nice you need a dedicated area that is surgically clean and I was trying to run these chrome projects in line with the paint projects and it just was not the ideal situation. So for me it was time and space that turned me off, it was not cost effective for me, I can make more money in the fab shop or body shop than spraying the chrome. It also takes a bit of practice because it not at all like shooting paint. So that being said plan on spending at least a grand for materials to practice with. I think this is better suited for somebody if it was a hobby or full-time job and no in between.

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