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rjg1973

Restoring Chrome Plastic Parts

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Hi guys,

Has anyone had had any success restoring chromed plastic parts, either using a spray can or taking them to a specialist? I'm keen to get as close to the factory mirror finish as possible.

Thanks,

Rob

   

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This is something I would be interested to know. Every chrome effect spray I've seen states on the can that it'll come out shiny silver. Spaz Stix in the US do a paint that comes out chrome but as far as I know it's for air brush only and the last time I tried to contact them to see if they ship to the UK or have a UK distributor I didn't receive any reply. I tried a few times and eventually gave up. 

I'm tempted to use a specialist coater but haven't looked any further into it to be honest.  

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Random but I wonder if using a graffiti spray paint would work, I know that there is a brand called Montana and they do or did a chrome silver, which when sprayed onto any surface would have a lovely chrome shine to it, I can only vouch for it working/taking to brick walls, metal panels and outdoor plastic surfaces, i have a huge tin of the chrome, if I find a cap for the can I'll see if I have anything to test for you and take pics.

 

MO-SILVERCHROME_600ML.jpg

Edited by jjp_0121
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Thanks for the info from your mis-spent youth - that looks like it's might be a good shout going from few videos on youtube 

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From my experience with 'chrome' spray it always looks like polished aluminium as real chrome is basically a metal coating over copper and nickel base coats . I've tried various approaches with spray chrome , a matt black base coat seems to work well .The cans lids are chromed but the cans label points out that the finished product won't look like the lid  :(  .

TC member 'loaded' used to chrome plate new parts trees many years back so it is possible . I sometimes get metal parts re-chromed , but I've never asked about plastic parts  - yet  .

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Who does them for you @KEV THE REV?

You're right about the can kids and the note on the can, I've seen that in them all. Spaz Stix uses a black base coat to achieve a decent result but as said above i've never managed to get my hands on any. 

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Small workshop in Romford , not open at present  :(  , but I only have metal parts done , not plastic

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One can achieve mirror finish with Spaztix, the trick is many light dustings building up to final dry film thickness.

A Google search will reveal what is achievable.

 

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For small touch up you can use Molotow (liquid chrome) pens. Several tip diameters are available. Also good to do small lettering on hard body's. Better stationary of hobby material shops sell these pens.

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Hello, new member here.  I'll do a more proper intro soon, but am hoping for some advice on cleaning/restoring chrome.  I was prepping an old Blackfoot grill for paint by washing/soaking in a mild solution of dish soap, and it came out foggy like this:

49830050447_efe093dddf_b.jpg_MG_5081.JPG

 

49829741911_f5357b1275_b.jpg_MG_5084.JPG

 

I can remove it by gently scraping with a fingernail, but that's not a practical solution for the entire piece.  I carefully tried vinegar, WD40, and rubbing with a washcloth, none of which seemed to do anything except start removing the chrome.  Does anyone have any suggestions?

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5 hours ago, schlabinski said:

Hello, new member here.  I'll do a more proper intro soon, but am hoping for some advice on cleaning/restoring chrome.  I was prepping an old Blackfoot grill for paint by washing/soaking in a mild solution of dish soap, and it came out foggy like this:

49830050447_efe093dddf_b.jpg_MG_5081.JPG

 

49829741911_f5357b1275_b.jpg_MG_5084.JPG

 

I can remove it by gently scraping with a fingernail, but that's not a practical solution for the entire piece.  I carefully tried vinegar, WD40, and rubbing with a washcloth, none of which seemed to do anything except start removing the chrome.  Does anyone have any suggestions?

Hi,  if you want to completely remove the chrome finish then thick household bleach will remove it in a few minutes.  Just place the bits in a plastic container and add enough bleach to cover the parts.  Virtually no scrubbing required.  Then just rinse well with plenty of water and your good to go for sanding, priming and painting. 

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1 hour ago, Kitzbuehel74 said:

Hi,  if you want to completely remove the chrome finish then thick household bleach will remove it in a few minutes.  Just place the bits in a plastic container and add enough bleach to cover the parts.  Virtually no scrubbing required.  Then just rinse well with plenty of water and your good to go for sanding, priming and painting. 

Thank you for that.  To clarify, I'm trying to keep the chrome intact and restore its shininess.  The painting I'm hoping to do is per the box art look, so I'd still like the bumper and headlight "lens" to be shiny.

In the meantime, I've tried rubbing alcohol on a cotton swab.  That seems to remove the fog, but may be removing a bit of the chrome as well.  So I either need to be faster or try a different agent.

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On 4/29/2020 at 12:56 AM, No Slack said:

For small touch up you can use Molotow (liquid chrome) pens. Several tip diameters are available. Also good to do small lettering on hard body's. Better stationary of hobby material shops sell these pens.

I agree with this, the Molotow pens are very good, and cheap enough to try out to see if you like it.

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Just wanted to provide an update in case anyone else is looking for a solution to cleaning foggy chrome.  A reminder that in my case, the fog appeared while soaking the piece in warm water with a little dish soap.  After trying many things unsuccessfully, I decided to strip all the chrome and start over.  I didn't have thick bleach on hand, so I used typical liquid laundry bleach and much to my surprise the fog quickly disappeared before it started affecting the chrome!  I rinsed thoroughly and now it looks like this:

49964924291_930386aee2_c.jpg

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Great result! :)

I have a Chevy Clod that has the chrome painted silver but wasn't sure how to go about stripping the paint without ruining any potential decent chrome underneath.

Valuable info here @schlabinski B)

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