How to paint a chrome body

[whahooo]

Hello,

i have a chrome Clodbuster body at home.

I want to clearcoat it.

My Problem is that there are several stains on the Body, some are waterstains, some are Fingerprints and some look like "ruststains".

Do anyone have suggestions how to clean a chromebody?

When i clean it with warter the fingerprints won`t disappear.

When i would clean it with alcohol, i do not know what will happen to the chrome....

Also i do not know how to clearcoat the Body.

Can i use normal Tamiya clear paint?

Does this attack the chrome?

Any tipps and recomendations are welcome.

[njmlondon]

As far as I am aware the only thing you can try is warm soapy water.

If it does not clean up after that, it would indicate that the chrome finish has been damaged.

Most clear paints will not adhere to chrome properly. You can use Future Floor Wax which the scale modelers use to seal layers between acrylic and enamel / oil paints. It seems to stick to everything I have ever tried it on and does not react with underlying finishes.

If you cannot get the stains off, you may decide to strip the chrome completely and repaint. A few days soaking in Mr Muscle oven cleaner should do the trick.

[ChrisRx718]

I would not attempt to clearcoat the chrome, you will likely degrade the sheen and be left with something sort of off-silver rather than chrome.

You need a de-greasing agent which isn't going to be aggressive enought to remove chrome plating. I once had an issue where even Tamiya's low-tac masking tape removed the chrome plating from some wheels

Experiment in an unconspicuous area of the body if you can. Do you have something like a washing up liquid at home? That's specifically for de-greasing and might work.

[Tamiyabigstuff]

Tamiya supply a polishing cloth with the 1/14 tanker trailer - you might find this being sold as a spare part somewhere - could be worth a try.

Have you tried something like a micro fibre cloth ?

I have a feeling that any solvent based substance you spray onto the chrome might have bad results.

[Shodog]

Seeing how the body isn't perfect, it would be a great candidate to shoot some of Tamiya's clear color paints on it. Here is where I have used Tamiya clear orange on a set of aluminum wheel centers

[whahooo]

I will try the microfiber cleaning cloth.

All the stains are removeable by water and dishwashing liquid, but the water leave waterstains if its not wiped dry emediatly.

Maybe ill try that future floor wax if I find a place to order it.

A clearcoat would be very nice because its a runner and I'm shure that the dust will make the chrome scratchy and dump....

If I do not find that wax I will leave it without a clearcoat and only dacal the body with the old Bernie or scorched decals that are left over.

Thanks for the tipps so far!

[Bob380sx]

i recently painted a chrome pumpkin. the chrome had got a yellowish tint to it. i washed it really good with warm water and dish soap first and the yellow tint was still there. then i used brake cleaner on a rag and wiped the body down. i was doing this to get all the oils and stuff of the body so i had a nice clean surface to paint. what i noticed was the yellow tint went a way and left a nice bright chrome behind. there was on spot that had some sticker goo so i used more brake clean a scrubbed that area some more and it started cleaning the chrome off the plastic. so light brake cleaner will work to clean the chrome but to much and you'll clean the chrome right of the plastic.

[Shodog]

Usually Brake cleaner is so corrosive it will eat into the plastic.

[Bob380sx]

I'm sure it would applied directly to plastic. I put in on a rag and gave a quick wipe and had no ill effects. when i put it on heavy to remove the goo it did remove the chrome in a little spot. I left the hood un-painted and actually wiped it down too stickers and all it removed the yellow and didn't hurt the sticker at all.