DIY Spray On Chrome

Thanks I appreciate the info. just tried my tinted clear didn't work so well the waterbase left undisolved particles will get a little paint to mix in it tomorrow

I will say you are spot on when you say its all in the prep. I had a piece I had done several months ago that was a little rough it chromed up and was as rough as the paint under it. good lesson to make sure its smooth as a baby brfore wasting the solution.

and my spoons are not quite as good as yours... yet lol thanks again man

 

I just pulled a rabbit out of my hat boys... I did 2 pieces in like 3 hours top... the owner wanted the pieces by tomorrow, I told him, sorry cant do, I need 2 days at least(prep takes 1 day, silvering and cleat coating another day), but then I saw how good these pieces were painted, so I told him, hey if you dont mind me using this paint as basecoat I´ll have this pieces ready by tomorrow, but if the paint goes bad then I will still need 2 days.. he was ok with it..

why would you use waterbased clear if its not in this tutorial? I´ve been there bro, tested them all clears(water based, wood polyurethane, lacquer, enamels) and 2k urethane of good grade is the way to go

as you will see again, its all on the prep of the basecoat, the pieces the customer provided were just painted not long ago and had been buffed and polished, all I had to do was degrease and proceed with process

practise make perfect my friend

 

just place them here, that way everybody can learn from them even if they are bad, I´ll let you know what´s up

 

I think it's time this thread was closed or deleted.

 

my I ask why? its a DIY for people on a Budget, people that want to try out spray on chrome without having to pay $8,000 to know if its their thing or not

 

I haven't read all the responses in this forum, but one thing I saw on TV was the West Coast Customs show( I think), they did a new Audi R8 with this stuff. From front to back and bottom to top in chrome. All I remember seeing was a painter in a booth spraying and a guy with a garden hose following every pass just hosing it down, thats all I know, final job looked pretty wild...my 2 cents worth.

 

I think if you don't like this thread, then don't read it!!!!! There are those of us who have an interest in the process, if not the objects being plated.
I know if I was in the process of a resto/rod with some plastic parts that I was wanting to chrome I would certainly start out on plastic spoons, before I subjected some very difficult to replace part to the learning process.
What is it with people who want a thread closed just because it doesn't fit their idea of what should be on HAMB!
You're just like those idiots who want all reference to something with which they disagree removed from media or what ever else in society.
If this thread doesn't interest you then don't fuckin' read it!!!!! It's just that simple to solve!
Dave

 

Ok back to the Rabbit...

this is how the pieces looked like before(I wish I was as good as painter and/or buffer as the guy that did these pieces)





after the silvering process was done, not with clear yet..





after violet tinted clear..(what I do is mist coat the tinted clear untill I have the right shade, then follow it with a heavy none tinted clear coat pass)

its night time, so they kinda look dark





videos..

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/-tdwPeKomho" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Aw9ajhIildk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

for those of you that are tired of spoons sorry but I'm not attempting the good stuff til i have this down

this was from earlier before i ruined my clear

 

i read every post in this thread-----i prefer ones that are on subject--and i appreciate all the knowledge passed on to us newbs

 

Blueone;

I wholeheartedly echo dirtyoldman's sentiments & thoughts here. Quit butting in, who the hell are you to demand that this thread gets closed. Lots of good info here. Nicamarvin, keep going, it's appreciated. Thanks for doing & showing.

Marcus...

 

not bad, not bad at all....

 

ok I just took pics of the piece this morning....





video of a piece vs triple chrome
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/OOKB91H6V10" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

Good info More like lots of BS

 

awesome work man

just went by the paint supplier and he hooked me up with a violet candy dye 2oz for 14.00 i went ahead and got some other colors also

 

cool... I wish I had candy dyes..

for both pieces I spent 4ml of concentrates(silver concentrate, silver activator and silver reducer) for the sensitizer only 2.5 ml for 100ml of Di water.. for the clear coat I ony used 1/64th of a gallon of sherwin williams 2k urthane concentrate(half of that 1/64th was violet tinted and mist coated to both pieces untill I got the chrome look, the the other none tinted half on a second wet coat) that´s it... not bad uh..

 

I cleared a couple motorcycle pieces last night to try today wish me luck lol

 

Really near thread!! I was just looking in a catalog at the paint store with a system like this (don't remember what brand) and I'm glad to know it works pretty good. Would be great for a lot of plastic interior parts like theres so much of in 60s era cars. Hell, just about the whole dash in my '66 Buick is plastic, and theres a lot of fake chrome from the factory on it.... Ideas are brewing...

 

I have a qestion
have you ever had it fog in a section? I did a piece about 5"x7" and a section about 3" fogged dulled up

I know my reducer water was warmer than my silvering water (DI water was in the sun)

 

fog on a piece can only means not enough cleaning and or enough wetting agent was done on that part, try another piece, this time clean it like I do(rubb it) and then do the wetting agent..

 

I was involved in a project back in 2007 sculpturing a 50 Merk lead sled to be fabricated in fiberglass. I designed a grill looking like a 52 Desoto and modified the bumpers to match. We looked at spray on chrome and at the time it really hadn't been perfected to the point that it is today. I may have to take a second look at it.
As far as the tramps that chime in wanting the thread to be closed down of attempting to compare real chrome to the spray it's like apples and oranges. I say fuckem, take a look at there profiles. You would think that if they had accomplished one thing in there life relating to what we are about that they would at least post a picture. Tramps like that are all over the HAMB, and I for one wouldn't give them the time of day.

 

I would love to work on such a piece(if I had the equipment)

 

well guys I´m doing this Isuzu grill, its beat up so I had to start from 0...

here it is after some fiber glass work





after some body work and 2k primer form sherwin williams





this time I´m using single stage glossy white 2k urethane from SW too.





its ready to be chrome(silver) tomorrow...

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/kXYzWsBiHZU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

Thanks I thought i did but obviously something went wrong lol

i went back to spoons and am taking my time makeing sure i do each step thoroughly

I tried clearing a few pieces i am putting too much clear on and havent got my mix right gonna try lighter coats still yellowing gonna bump up my violet mix

 

thats really cool let me know how it comes out
i have a couple pieces i am gonna prep tonght and try tomorrow i have 2 amall pieces I need to color sand and buff got a few pieces of dirt in the paint and as I found out the slicker the piece the better the silvering goes lol

 

some times many things will go wrong, so dont get frustrated, take it slowly ok..

this is how my tinted clear looks
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/N4ML136PUBM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

well it came out ok...

here some pics..

before clear coat




after tinted clear coat

sanding and buffing its not my thing, thats why I always try to paint as perfect of a mirror as I can...

 

some videos...

Isuzu plastic grill without clear coat

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/QMQxjzvECLg" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

after the tinted clear coat, but without the final clear coat

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/EziXCnBUKDk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

after final clear coat vs REAL Chrome

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/KsvkpdrhFGs" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/NfNfuepFv8w" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

very nice

I didnt get a chance to do anything tonight my goal is to do one project a day until I am confident enough to take on a project for someone else

I am sure I will be ordering a big bottle of wetting agent by monday

 

ok I threw caution to the wind glad I did went ahead washed one of the panels I was gonna buff and silvered it

 

Looks good.