Technical SINCE WE COVERED CHROME PLATING ALUMINUM & STAINLESS, WHAT ABOUT - PLASTIC?

Plastic? I am aware it has been used in the past and remember the dash insert in my '65 Ford pickup looked like chrome.

I read today that Advanced Plating offers chrome plating on hard plastics, Now that 3D printing has become more friendly usable making emblems & automobile script would be something that could be chrome plated.

Have any of you guys had any experience with having plastic chromed? HRP

 

FYI even with the best of 3D printed parts you need to be able to finish the surface really nice to get a very nice smooth finish regardless of painting or plating. Which I believe in the plating process it still gets a coating over.

I've only had some vacuum metalizing but that is just a light plating that wears out with too much handling.

 

The technical term is Vacuum Metalizing. I have had some dash pieces and lenses for side lights done, the result was fair. (It may have been the vendor I used) the surface is not durable, I don't think it would withstand use on the exterior of a vehicle very well. I have also had some items spray chromed, again the results were fair.

 

In the early 90s, I was having Gold Wind plastic pieces chromed. It was a many step process with between 10 and 20 percent loss to the parts. A bit pricey also. It did look like chrome, but with not the same reflection factor.

 

Been looking at this outfit to plate some 3d printed hub caps for my 29 Peerless https://www.mmmetalizing.com/services.html

 

From what I have read there seems to be 5 different processes to chrome plastic

Plastic chrome plating
Like metal, plastic can also be chrome plated. For this method, you’ll have to send off the plastic parts you want to add chrome to for plating. The plating company will coat your part in layers of nickel and copper before it then applies the chrome. This process can only be used with rigid plastic parts. Another disadvantage is that traditional chrome plating requires more time and is more expensive than other options you have.

Vacuum metalizing
Commonly used in the manufacture of flashlight reflectors, vacuum metalizing is another way you can transform your plastic pieces into chrome-coated ones. With this method, your plastic parts have a base coat applied to them and then are exposed to a vapor cloud that is made out of aluminum. The vapor cloud bonds to the plastic part’s surface, leaving behind a shine that is similar to chrome in appearance. A drawback to this option is the time and expense involved in sending your part off, greatly extending the time it takes you to complete your vehicle’s transformation.

Chrome spray paint
A cheap option is to use chrome spray paint. You can do this at home in your garage or at work in your shop, which is one advantage. A disadvantage of using chrome paint for plastic is that it appears more like silver spray paint than a true chrome finish. If you are not careful, it is also easy for the base coat to show through.

Chrome film
Chrome film is available in stretch and non-stretch varieties. These are films with adhesive backing. The stretch varieties allow you to wrap the film around curved areas. The non-stretch varieties can only be used on surfaces that are flat. An obvious drawback of using chrome film for your vehicle’s interior features is that it is very easy to get wrinkles in it. As a type of laminate, chrome film is also easy to tear, gouge or scratch, and it will not have the same strength and feel of true chrome.

Spray chrome
PChrome is a spray on chrome for plastic that provides the same terrific look and strength of traditional chrome plating. It can be applied in your garage or in your shop, and it has the same high-gleam polish and feel that people expect from chrome. Highly versatile, it can be used for a part of any size, and it bonds well to almost anything imaginable. It comes in several different popular shades, including blue, red, gold and silver. Of the various options for transforming plastic into chrome, spray chrome is probably the best one. Because of its ability to be applied on site, it allows you to save time. It also is affordable, costing only around 25 percent of the cost of traditional chrome plating.

 

I would be interested to know if anyone has used the plastic chrome plating that uses the same process as plating metal.

Starting with nickel,chopper then chrome, I have been told this is how plastic was plated by the big 3 back in the day.

 

Does anyone have used already the PChrome and can share some experiencies with us?

 

I agree with 3w John. Those plastic grilles on '88 or thereabouts GM pickups had chrome that peeled and blistered and looked like genuine plating. How did they do that? Of course, without the chrome peeling.

 

I've always been low on bucks,but love shiny stuff!
The new design stuff dose give more ways to make shiny things. If $ to do it is around.
In the 1950s,I kept a close eye on how good silver an gold paints could be shiny or if the shiny held for very long.
Most failed very fast back then,only a few even now work some,all are soft,that I've seen as paints.
One way in the last 20 years,I found too work well. There are a few types of chrome tape/an sheets,even some that have stretch<that is a little hard to work with,but needed for kind of round stuff.
My first go too,being I never had $ to buy chrome plating,was to polish what ever metal to high shin. In the case of steel,I'd gloss clear coat over it some times.
Chrome tapes have become better over the years.
Chrome tapes* now days that are really good,like those made for kickpanels an other strips.

I'm going to tell a kind of "Secret"
The nice chrome you see in the photo above,is not really chrome=The first thing you may note is the shocks> those are tape=the chrome tape sold for rockerpanels,same goes for the tierod n steering rod{ the tape seam is place on the side that dose not show.
The front spring "U" bolts are just high polished steel an gloss clear coated , nuts an bolts every were I could I high polished stainless.< Those polished metal parts have been that way from the 1959/60s. I have had to redo a little from time to time.
Back in the early 1960s,the shiny alum tapes I used were really for ductwork, and look great for only about a year ,before replacing it. This new chrome tape has lasted as you see it in photo for 6 years now ,an shows no sign of failing yet. I do keep my rod in garage. No one at any show has ever found out this stuff is not really chromed.
Point being,if you can put tape on a clean smooth part,with out bubbles=No one knows you saved a lot of $.
Shsssssssssssssssss don't tell.

 

Thank's Dana, for cluing us in on your secret. HRP

 

Dana, nothing wrong with low buck hot rodding, using your imagination instead of your wallet is thinking outside the box.

 

The only thing that looks like chrome plating is chrome plating... All these other methods mimic it to some degree of success but none duplicate it. And Danny, you missed one method; heat press trim. This became popular with the OEMs in the '70s for interior parts and small exterior trim. Applied to raised edges, this required a printing-press type applicator and isn't something that can be home applied. Pretty common on dashboards in the '70s and I've also seen it used on taillight lenses and trim script. A bit more durable than vacuum metalizing, although that depends on the metal used.

The two most common methods used by the OEMs are vacuum metalizing and actual plating. Both have shortcomings. Vacuum metalizing has been around since the '50s and is still used. The 'chrome' trim in model kits is done this way and all uses including automotive generally used aluminum as the trim metal. Ford used this method on their mid-'50s taillight lenses; you know, the ones that looked great when new but give it a few years and the trim would fall off. They did one smart thing; they plated the inside of the clear plastic trim to protect it from wear... but it still fell off sooner or later. More on this later...

Actual chrome plating on plastic first appeared AFAIK in the mid-60s. Starting with vacuum metalizing, rather than using aluminum, copper is used for the first layer. Once the copper is applied to give electrical continuity on the plastic, the part is then tripled plated just like any metal item. Ford used it on their column-shift knobs as 'standard' metalizing would wear off rapidly, the triple-plate was very durable. This method was later extended for use on exterior trim like grills, headlight doors, and taillight bezels. But one problem remained...

Expansion rates is where actual chrome plating on plastic or other non-metal parts has issues. Plastic expands/contracts more than the metal plating and over time this can cause the plating to split/lift off the plastic; that's what did in the '50s Ford taillight lenses. Aluminum handles this much better, but being softer wears off quickly as anyone who has had to re-do mid-'60s dash trim can attest. On those mid-'60 Ford shift knobs the plating could split and have a razor-sharp edge that could cut your hand. This continued to be an issue as noted above with splitting/peeling occurring over time. I believe the OEMs have made progress on this, probably by reformulating the plastic used, but that's no help if you have older parts. I'm personally fighting this right now; I'm trying to round up a set of somewhat rare early '70s taillight lenses with plated plastic chrome trim attached and finding ones that don't have any splitting or peeling of the chrome is proving to be difficult. I've bought 11 lenses off eBay (two trims per lens) and so far have 5 usable trims with no peeling/lifting... and need 8. I may end up having to do some creative painting with silver paint. I have no idea how these could be restored; how do you get the old plating off?

As to paints, coatings, and wraps, none of these actually look like chrome to me or are proven durable. Jivin' Jer tried the high-end paint on his chopped garnish moldings for his Jesse Lopez '47 Ford clone and it didn't survive the handling needed for installation. I've personally tried the 'chrome' powdercoat, at best it looks like somewhat-neglected polished aluminum (that needs more polishing) and isn't at all durable as it scratches easily unless clear-coated and if you do clear-coat it dulls it even more. All of these photograph much better than they appear in person.

Dana Barlow's use of 'chrome' metal tape is a better solution compared to the other low cost alternatives, but forget it if you're dealing with intricate parts or compound curves. And you may still have issues if used on plastic due to different expansion rates.

 

Thanks for the information Steve. HRP

 

I built a 69 Camaro for a guy who was "Chrome Crazy". He had his Camaro grill chrome plated. Probably cost a fortune, but it looked great! Only one of 2 platers in the country were doing plastic at the time.

 

I talked to Steve at advanced plating about a couple of pieces for my old cab over, the price wan't cheap but the pieces I saw on display did really look like chrome plated steel.

 

Done right it can be virtually indistinguishable from a plated metal part. I've even seen fiberglass parts plated. If it wasn't for that pesky splitting and peeling thing over time it would be great way to reproduce rare parts.

 

I met a guy at a local cruise in that has a chopped top glass 3 window and I noticed it had chrome garnish moldings, I ask him about them and he told me the original builder had the fiberglass moldings platted.

 

I've seen some polished brass, that was treated to Imron Clear Coat, that had already lasted for a number of years on a vehicle. If I had delicately chromed plastic items, I might consider the Imron.

 

The secret is to paint the surface with shellac then coat with bronze powder. That is the way we used to plate baby shoes back in the fifties. Copper plating will stick to the bronze powder where it won't on a non metallic surface. You can do the usual copper, nickel, chrome plating process and it will last if you don't knock it around. But the plating is not bonded to the plastic and it will peel and flake if you give it a chance.
The plated plastic parts on Detroit cars of the sixties was vacuum metalized with vaporized aluminum in a vacuum chamber protected with clear varnish. Good enough for interior trim but the plating would wear off with rubbing.

 

I would check on lowrider forums or with that crowd. They seem to have a handle on nice chrome on plastic. Yes the hard chrome on some 70’s grilles over plastic is awesome but rarely seen now.
I use the aluminum vacuum metalizing and it runs off. Some do clear coat it for protection. But mine is mostly very tiny parts.

 

The grill in my 2010 Freightliner is chrome over hard plastic, and it has sections split and peeling just like Steve was describing. Just like the Ford knobs peeling, that shit peeling off the grill will cut like a knife.

 

So they still haven't worked the bugs out...

I had the shift knob on a '67 Ranchero split and open up the palm of my hand on the way to work once, that was my introduction to plated plastic. Caught me totally by surprise, I thought those knobs were chromed metal.

 

This thread mentions a chrome process on a 3D printed part that turned out great. Saw it in person a few weeks back in Quinten’s 35.

https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/1935-ford-waterfall.1178935/

 

I can't remember which show, but one of the typical car shows on tv had a very brief segment on chrome plating plastics. They had sprayed the part with a copper based paint, and after several coats had enough base to plate. If I can remember where I saw it or find it, I'll post it here.

 

Here is a piece that I referred to earlier. Sells for about half of what it cost when I done a few. It is ABS plastic.

 

Did you see this on a video? HRP

 

I don't think he used actual chrome plating. It's either paint or vacuum metalizing with aluminum.

 

I don't think he used actual chrome plating. It's either paint or vacuum metalizing with aluminum.

 

My understanding was that plastics were painted with a conductive paint and then plated the traditional way with copper, nickel and then chrome. The conductive paint was used so the electrolysis process could still happen.

Here is an article.

https://facfox.com/docs/kb/how-to-electroplate-plastic