Chrome finish spray paint

[Wandy]

I'm after some spray paint (for hard plastic bodyshells etc) that gives a chrome/metallic finish so that it resembles something close or exact to a Buggy Champ's dampers or j-man's special bumpers.

Any recommendations? Tamiya don't seem to to do a chrome spray paint.

[dimblum]

Use SpazStix chrome spray. It was designed for use with polycarbonate, but also works on standard ABS plastics.. You need to lay down a flat coat of black spray first, then lay the chrome spray on top to give it a mirror shine..

http://www.spazstix.com/xcart/Mirror-Chrome-Aerosol-Paint/

SpazStix recommends using waterbase spray for the flat black coat, but I have had pretty good results with the Tamiya TS and PS sprays.. If you can locate a waterbase flat black spray I would imagine it would give the chrome a more intense mirror finish.

[mr crispy]

Wow that looks like a pretty convincing chrome effect - especially concidering the politically incorrect product name. Im guessing that may not travel over the pond so well They'll have to rename it "Retard Shine" or similar in the UK.

[Kevin_Mc]

i'm needing some of this for Punto headlights!

[Percymon]

I've used Fastrax chrome spray a few times - did a set of hotshot rims, applying over Tamiya TS black base - came out a very bright silver, not really chrome.

Used same on front grille of a lexan shell, came out very chrome until i backed with black again, turning the same very bright silver with some reflection.

Next time i use it i'm going to back with silver - for the Fastrax paint i'm thinking the black is dulling it down, silver might retain the chrome look ?

[Wandy]

Use SpazStix chrome spray. It was designed for use with polycarbonate, but also works on standard ABS plastics.. You need to lay down a flat coat of black spray first, then lay the chrome spray on top to give it a mirror shine..

http://www.spazstix.com/xcart/Mirror-Chrome-Aerosol-Paint/

SpazStix recommends using waterbase spray for the flat black coat, but I have had pretty good results with the Tamiya TS and PS sprays.. If you can locate a waterbase flat black spray I would imagine it would give the chrome a more intense mirror finish.

That looks good. Thanks.

[thorsteenster]

I've used Fastrax chrome spray a few times - did a set of hotshot rims, applying over Tamiya TS black base - came out a very bright silver, not really chrome.

Used same on front grille of a lexan shell, came out very chrome until i backed with black again, turning the same very bright silver with some reflection.

Next time i use it i'm going to back with silver - for the Fastrax paint i'm thinking the black is dulling it down, silver might retain the chrome look ?

I've never used the Spaz Stix, but I should have a can arriving today. They do recommend usng water based black to back, is this what you used?

I'm guessing other based paints do something to diminish the shine.

[Percymon]

I've never used the Spaz Stix, but I should have a can arriving today. They do recommend usng water based black to back, is this what you used?

I'm guessing other based paints do something to diminish the shine.

I emailed fastrax uk distributor for guidance but they never relied , my local stockier was clueless and no guidance on tin. I have another can that I intend to use to efurb some KBF wheels. They are silver currently so I have nothing to lose spraying over the silver to see what happens this time round.

I fancy doing a chrome lexan bodyset for my astute, so it'll be interesting to see how you get on with spaz stix

[thorsteenster]

Yeah I'll be trying a bit of chrome on a Tamiya Bronco body probably this weekend. I have a build thread going and will have pics in it.

[bad andy]

I've used Spaz Stix air brushed onto lexan (inside as usual) and results are always awesome. Almost doesn't matter what it's backed with with this formula, but it is translucent so you want to be careful if spraying other colors around, definitely back with something that fortifies your chrome's intentions.

I recall when the first and only option was AlClad II chrome. I've used that too, on static models (not lexan, so painting on the outside) and I always found the best results to set up a black basecoat in gloss. I think they even recommended enamel, but this was static models, with no need for flex. Point is though, I think you want as smooth a surface as possible for the backing coat so the tiny metal chrome bits that are suspended in the solvent can align properly while setting.

The aforementioned advice to use a flat coat backer seemed odd to me... I found this on FAQ at the Spaz Stix site:

Question: How good does the mirror chrome look on an 'exterior' applications (Any mirror effect)?

Answer: Yes, ti will give you a mirror effect depending on how smooth your surface is that you are beginning with. You will want your surface to be as smooth as glass for best results

[SWAGGER]

Guys check out Alclad. Have a good look through the website but give some time to youtube also.

These guys have several shades of chrome, gunmetal, bronze and gold and so on. They recommend a gloss black for this product.

This seems to be the best stuff on the market and you get some really outstanding results.

The big difference here seems to be that it is not really paint as such, paint will never be truly chrome as chrome is not a colour but a metal. So Alclad actually has tiny elements or chrome in a laquar. This makes it pretty toxic, you HAVE to ware a very good mask or else you inhale metal particles.

Alclad was founded in England in 1999 and seems to have done pretty well. The website tells the story. I just discovered it while I was searching for a good way to chrome some parts on my Knight Hauler. Only thing is, from what I saw, it comes in a bottle ready for airbrush and I don't have a airbrush!! Typical!

[Percymon]

I emailed fastrax uk distributor for guidance but they never relied , my local stockier was clueless and no guidance on tin. I have another can that I intend to use to efurb some KBF wheels. They are silver currently so I have nothing to lose spraying over the silver to see what happens this time round.

I fancy doing a chrome lexan bodyset for my astute, so it'll be interesting to see how you get on with spaz stix

I used the Fastrax stuff on my Clod project, the initial layer of chrome on the lexan looked very chrome but was semi translucent - i backed with silver this time round and whilst its better it did lose some of its chrome effect, but better than before. I picked up a few more cans this week cheap, so i'm going to experiment with a white back coat next time.

[TA-Mark]

I stumbled accross these products today on youtube. By far the best 'chrome in a can' I've ever seen. They are even doing complete 1:1 cars in it.

Fashion Paints Flash Chrome.

. Not cheap but great results with 95%-98% reflection.

ALSA MirraChrome.

. You can get a rattle can kit of this stuff at a reasonable price.

Both brands have a similar kit that contains a flat black base, clear for the base to obtain a glossy smooth surface, then the metal deposition coat and another clear to seal the metal.

[94eg!]

The SpazStix Chrome is great. It's really expensive though compared to other polycarbonate paints. Because it's not very opaque, there are lots of cool effects you can make by layering it.

This is it backed with a lighter blue for a weird blue/chrome effect. Changes in the light. I think I even drew some stripes no it with a blue sharpie before laying on the chrome.

This has the chrome backed with black for a pure chrome look. Came out fantastic, but my pics have too much blue in them: