Re-painting interior plastic chrome trim

[WissaMan]

I wanted to rehabilitate the chrome on the plastic of some of my interior pieces. I used this stuff:
Amazon.com

Not quite as good of a finish as plastic that has vapor deposited metal, but pretty darn good. Way better than I thought would be possible with paint. Compare the outer ring of these reading lamps. The one on the right I had not yet painted and you can see how worn off the original chrome is.

The key I found is to put it on pretty wet so that it flows out before drying, but not so wet that it runs. It takes a steady hand though and that's something I definitely struggle with.

 

[Big_John]

Bad link. What's the name of the product?

 

[WissaMan]

sorry, here's a pic.

 

[Justin Plant]

Molotow is another option. They sell pens internet and retail, I bought one from Hobby Lobby. Not cheap but, works great.

 

[WissaMan]

Yes I bought pens too on Amazon, another brand but probably a similar. The effect is very similar but I got better results with the brush. The pen is more accurate and easier to control, but because it is a stiff tip, I found it harder to get a nice smooth flowed out finish. If I would miss a spot and go back over the area, the hard tip would disturb and wipe away the paint that was already there. Whereas with the brush that didn't happen.

I find a good technique, when doing flat edges, is to hold the part upside down and apply the paint "from below". That helps reduce the probability of it running down the sides. If you can understand what I mean, I'm not sure if I'm describing it well.

The biggest challenge for me is keeping my hands steady. I dunno, maybe it's the caffeine in my coffee making me jittery. Some times I can be pretty steady. Other times my hands jump all around and it really pees me off.

 

[Big_John]

sorry, here's a pic.

View attachment 741121

I bought some of that a few months ago, but haven't tried it yet.

I watched a YouTube video on it and it looked pretty good. I can't find the one I watched, but there's a bunch of videos about it.

My only concern is how well it holds up. I bought it for a model car, so I haven't researched that.

 

[Big_John]

Molotow is another option. They sell pens internet and retail, I bought one from Hobby Lobby. Not cheap but, works great.

View attachment 741142

Yes I bought pens too on Amazon, another brand but probably a similar. The effect is very similar but I got better results with the brush. The pen is more accurate and easier to control, but because it is a stiff tip, I found it harder to get a nice smooth flowed out finish. If I would miss a spot and go back over the area, the hard tip would disturb and wipe away the paint that was already there. Whereas with the brush that didn't happen.

I find a good technique, when doing flat edges, is to hold the part upside down and apply the paint "from below". That helps reduce the probability of it running down the sides. If you can understand what I mean, I'm not sure if I'm describing it well.

The biggest challenge for me is keeping my hands steady. I dunno, maybe it's the caffeine in my coffee making me jittery. Some times I can be pretty steady. Other times my hands jump all around and it really pees me off.

I've used the Molotov pen and yea, you have to have a steady hand (which I don't).

It's an ink base though and works great for a model, but I've noticed that it comes off with handling pretty easy, so I don't know how long it will last.

From what I've seen with this type of stuff, clearing over it will make it look like aluminum rather than chrome.

 

[WissaMan]

Yeah I experimented with the protective clear coat that came as part of the kit and I too thought it had a negative impact on the chrome look.

I guess we'll see about the durability. I'm not using it on things that will be touched or handled under normal circumstances, but that won't stop it from being affected by the environment...

 

[Big_John]

Yeah I experimented with the protective clear coat that came as part of the kit and I too thought it had a negative impact on the chrome look.

I guess we'll see about the durability. I'm not using it on things that will be touched or handled under normal circumstances, but that won't stop it from being affected by the environment...

Yes, one of the things that I want to try is the dash trim in my '65 Barracuda. The area around the switches and radio gets touched more, and then there's sun beating in on it.

I have a spare radio surround that I tried a chrome spray on. It looks aluminum rather than chrome and while I never put it on the car, it kind of kicked around for a couple years and still looks OK, except for not looking like chrome (LOL). I think I'm going to strip it and try this stuff.

 

[WissaMan]

I tidbit of advice from my experience

I did the raised edge around the HVAC temp slider and fan switch for my formal. The one I got off ebay was not painted, but I think on the formals it should be. The raised edge around the defroster switch is anyway, so even if not, now they match lol.

But...the raised edge had some little bungs and nicks. Typical since people probably hit it with their fingernails. And as with any plating, they showed up in the finished product. So if you want to be really anal about it, if there are flaws you may want to lightly sand them.

 

[MoPar~Man]

 

[Ross Wooldridge]

Following!

 

[WissaMan]

I experimented with air brush application (on a test piece). When using the airbrush, the surface you're painting will have a larger impact on the final result. i.e. you'll want the surface as smooth as possible if you want the final result smooth and shiny.

Whereas applying with a brush can fill and level better.

 

[MoPar~Man]

The video's show that what you prime it with can have a large impact. And the surface needs to be mirror-smooth for best results.

The chrome / metalic nail powder (for brush on) or Alcad (for spray on) seems to be the obvious best choices here.

I'd like to know more about the more complex muti-step process (hydro - chroming) described at 1:00 minute mark in the first video.

 

[Big_John]

From videos I've watched, the Revell spray chrome does better than the Alclad. Again, I don't know about the durability. The Alclad does seem to be able to be clear coated with their Aqua-Clear, but I need to research that a bit.

I was going to try the Revell spray, but the local hobby shop could never keep it in stock. That shop recently closed after almost 50 years in business, so anything has to be ordered online now (sigh). The $30 price tag did made me hesitate a bit though.

Whatever you use, the primer or base coat color does matter. I fooled around with the fingernail powder (shown in the #11 post) but it's kind of a pain to work with. In working with it, I found dark blue gave the best look.

If you look at real chrome plating, it has a yellowish hue to it. Nickle (like cars in the 1920's) has a blue hue. The plastic dash parts were "vacuum metallized" with aluminum. If you give it a good look, it really doesn't look like chromed steel. It looks like... well... chromed plastic. I have seen serious model car builders strip off the vacuum metalized chrome and paint with one of the "chrome" paints because they felt the plastic in the kit looked "too much like a toy car" (their words).

But, thinking about this, the Alclad is probably the best bang for the buck and may be the easiest to apply with an airbrush. If you can top coat it with their Aqua-Clear, it could be the best combo for looks and durability. I have used the Aqua-Clear (air brushing) and it's reasonably durable. In fact, I built some drag slot cars (model car bodies) for a couple guys I know and finished them with the Aqua-Clear and that seems to last.

I haven't watched the entire video, but here's one about the Revell spray. Note that it's the same guy that did the video on the Alclad, difference being it's only 2 years old versus his 5 year old Alclad video. Has the tech advanced? I don't know...

 

[Big_John]

This popped up.... This may need more investigation. Might be durable enough and I'm wondering about a lighter color base coat. Easy enough though.... And the thinner he's using is basically what we used to call a slow thinner back in the painting cars with lacquer days. It takes a while to dry, so it flows out better.

 

[66/440]

One of the dash restoration companies I met years ago at a show told me that you must use a dark base coat (as @Big_John mentioned), preferably black to have any real success with any of the chrome like finishes. I have used this process with an air brush and have had some limited success, due in most part to my lack of skill. I have several projects I need to restore chrome like finish on and just haven't addressed them, mainly because I knew it was going to require multiple re-do's until I became proficient. My ADHD sometimes makes it hard to focus and other times I become very OCDC. I suspect the OCDC part will be the case and I don't look forward to all the do-overs. There are some thinners from Japan specifically designed to flow better when used with an airbrush. If you are considering purchasing an airbrush I highly recommend this one I purchased on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0030AO94U?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_3.
I had had the best success with this product : https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07MTDRPYC?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title.
I painted with a base of black and then sprayed with the chrome silver. Once dry I filled in the black surround using a syringe and thinned black in what ever gloss was called for. Seemed to work well with multiple coats if you are patient. Alleviates the need for tedious masking. Good luck with which ever process you choose to use!

 

[66/440]

BTW the small throw-away mixing cups (2oz or less) work great for this type of project.

 

[66/440]

This popped up.... This may need more investigation. Might be durable enough and I'm wondering about a lighter color base coat. Easy enough though.... And the thinner he's using is basically what we used to call a slow thinner back in the painting cars with lacquer days. It takes a while to dry, so it flows out better.

This is exactly what I used! The thinner works great!

 

[Big_John]

This is exactly what I used! The thinner works great!

I think I'm going to try that.

This is what I have to try to duplicate. The outside is chrome with the inside being silver, kind of aluminum looking. The blank piece was my trial piece for some Duplicolor chrome... Which kind of failed miserably, but the center silver is spot on.

The blank is soaking in brake fluid right now to remove the paint so I can start over.