Anyone mess around with chrome vinyl wrap?

[Zymurgy]

I going to try this out on one of my jukeboxes not Goldie. I am looking for a cheap alternative. If I actually got all the chrome done on any of the jukeboxes, I would have double what it is worth, just in the chrome plating.

I have reading different sources and one thing they all agree on, if the surface you are covering is flawed it will show through on the wrap.

My plan is to treat the item I will wrap like I am preparing a car body for paint. Sanding, use a sanding primer, lay putty in the bad areas, and working the surface until I am satisfied. Then lay some clear, which I can buff to mirror finish.

Anyone see a flaw in my plan? I can't find an example of anyone prepping a poor surface before wrapping. Any first hand experiences from anyone in the wrapping process?

Here is the first piece I am going to work on. It is nice and flat except for the coin slot. I have already sanded it down.

 

[Polara_500]

Haven't tried any of them personally, but I have seen some stuff done with the water wash chrome paint sequence that looked pretty dang good.

 

[QQE]

Try spectra chrome paint system

 

[Zymurgy]

Try spectra chrome paint system

Do you have any first hand experience with this system? This definitely intrigues me, if it actually performs as advertised and has some really durability I would consider the investment.

Right now I am going to try the chrome wrap no real investment cost and very little product cost too.

I kind of forgot when this first came out. I looked into it and decided I didn't want to make the investment. It is still pretty pricey for not trying to make some money back from my investment.

 

[bnz84]

A couple years ago I used chrome wrap to cover a homemade speaker grill in the rear of my convertible. Expense was mostly my time so if it sucked or pealed off so be it. It been fine ever since and I think the wraps have gotten better since then. You are lucky that its flat but regardless try to get stretchy flexible wrap for contours. That's was my biggest problem. Not stretchy enough for the corners and it shows. For prep I sanded and instead of clear (but clear would work) I used gloss black but any thick paint will work for this non-translucent wrap. The point is to get a thick coat of something that self levels to smooth and hide flaws. I put on 3 coats with 220 sanding in-between. When you apply have a heat gun ready just in case. Also u could try practicing with a spot on the back. Paint and apply a small piece of wrap to see what shows through. The chrome look is pretty good. Better that regular paints for sure. And has stuck without bubbles. If you do get a bubble pop it with an exacto .

 

[bnz84]

Oh right I forgot. I also used some on a peeling interior door panel. It was not the real metal stuff just a thin strip of that chrome mylar looking stuff that had dulled and began peeling. Scissors, contact cement, and exacto for trimming fixed it. Not exactly OEM chrome look but really close. Nobody notices it.

 

[Zymurgy]

A couple years ago I used chrome wrap to cover a homemade speaker grill in the rear of my convertible. Expense was mostly my time so if it sucked or pealed off so be it. It been fine ever since and I think the wraps have gotten better since then. You are lucky that its flat but regardless try to get stretchy flexible wrap for contours. That's was my biggest problem. Not stretchy enough for the corners and it shows. For prep I sanded and instead of clear (but clear would work) I used gloss black but any thick paint will work for this non-translucent wrap. The point is to get a thick coat of something that self levels to smooth and hide flaws. I put on 3 coats with 220 sanding in-between. When you apply have a heat gun ready just in case. Also u could try practicing with a spot on the back. Paint and apply a small piece of wrap to see what shows through. The chrome look is pretty good. Better that regular paints for sure. And has stuck without bubbles. If you do get a bubble pop it with an exacto .

Thanks for the insight. Yes because it is mostly flat I decided it would be a good place to start. If I am happy with my results here, I will try one of these 4 pointed stars. I watched some videos on overlay and would definitely have the heat gun handy for that application.

 

[bnz84]

To be clear unlike car body work I just painted the crap out of a semi-smooth surface. Not as much sanding. And it worked where you could not see any marks through the film. But with a thinner film it might be more risky. Also for small areas I have used finger nail polish as a thick undercoat. I'm the only guy walking out of Walmart with spray paint, hot dogs, and fingernail polish I've been wanting to try it it again with newer mtrl. Good luck.

 

[Mike66Chryslers]

Since this is for something which won't be exposed to outdoor weather, another option may be to use the plastic film that's used for model airplane wings and fuselages. I remember a couple brand names were Ultracote an Monokote, and they are available in shiny chrome. It's a shrink wrap with heat-activated adhesive on the backside.

Hangar 9 UltraCote, Chrome | Horizon Hobby

 

[Zymurgy]

To be clear unlike car body work I just painted the crap out of a semi-smooth surface. Not as much sanding. And it worked where you could not see any marks through the film. But with a thinner film it might be more risky. Also for small areas I have used finger nail polish as a thick undercoat. I'm the only guy walking out of Walmart with spray paint, hot dogs, and fingernail polish I've been wanting to try it it again with newer mtrl. Good luck.

Sounds like I need to experiment little bit with it before I go crazy with the prep. Thanks

 

[Zymurgy]

Since this is for something which won't be exposed to outdoor weather, another option may be to use the plastic film that's used for model airplane wings and fuselages. I remember a couple brand names were Ultracote an Monokote, and they are available in shiny chrome. It's a shrink wrap with heat-activated adhesive on the backside.

Hangar 9 UltraCote, Chrome | Horizon Hobby

Nice I will definitely check those out. That seems a lot easier to apply on those stars.

Got home and checked it out. I found this plane covered in the Monokote product. Pretty impressive mirror finish. I have the same type of iron which I use for woodworking and have a great industrial heat gun, so I have all the tools required. The product is only $15. I will definitely give it a shot.

 

[Zymurgy]

I have given up on the vinyl wrap. If it is on any large surface, it won't fool anyone and basically impossible to manipulate.

One positive out of this I discovered the better prepared and smooth the surface, the better the chrome paint looks, which quite honestly looks better than the chrome vinyl wrap.

For anyone interested I am using a Krylon filler primer after I throughly sanded the surface first. The chrome paint is Rustoleum Metallica finish. I plan to clear it, to hopefully extend the life of the finish.

So save for the chrome plating, there is nothing like the real thing.

 

[mr. fix it]

Since this is for something which won't be exposed to outdoor weather, another option may be to use the plastic film that's used for model airplane wings and fuselages. I remember a couple brand names were Ultracote an Monokote, and they are available in shiny chrome. It's a shrink wrap with heat-activated adhesive on the backside.

Hangar 9 UltraCote, Chrome | Horizon Hobby

As I was reading this thread this is exactly what came to my mind.

I used to build model aircraft and worked with this product

 

[Zymurgy]

As I was reading this thread this is exactly what came to my mind.

I used to build model aircraft and worked with this product

I bought it too I am still going to give this product another try. My heat gun was way to hot, I am going to just try a hairdryer and maybe detail iron.