How to paint chrome.

[scalebuilderchad]

Chrome paint is the holy grail for scale model builders. There are all sorts of chrome paints out there. And there are pretty big drawbacks to each one of them.

Molotov. We know it, we love(ed) it. It looks like chrome.. But it take forever to cure and you can't touch it. It dulls very easy, and absorbs fingerprints.
Alclad. For me, Alclad Chrome was VERY finicky and hard to consistently good results.
Spaz Stix. I just couldn't get it to be chrome enough.
Rust-Oleum. It looked great, but it simply wouldn't bond to anything I applied it to. It flaked right off.

Now there is a product from Austrailia that is high quality, easy to use, and you can actually touch it. It eventually will dull from being touched, but it can be handled quite a bit before it happens.

SMS Hyperchrome Cold Tone.

SMS Hyperchrome Cold Tone is so easy to use, and consistently get great results. And all you need is a clean, high gloss surface. It doesn't need to be black. You can paint this over any color. It just has to be glossy. You don't even have to use paint. Just clearcoat your parts and then you can chrome them.

The trick to using SMS Hyperchrome Cold Tone is to apply it in very light mist coats. Apply the paint very lightly, let it sit for just a minute or two and then apply the next coat. It is essential that these coats be dusted on very lightly. Apply 3-4 coats to achieve full coverage.

After 3-4 mist coats, you will have a hazy, dusty finish. But don't worry. Wait about an hour or two and the buff off the dust with a soft cloth. It will shine right up and give you a mirror chrome finish.

Here is an article I wrote for Fine Scale Modeler Magazine that kind of shows you what I am talking about. This paint works so well I don't even use chrome plated parts anymore. I strip all the chrome and paint them with this. Then I have more control over the finish.

https://finescale.com/how-to/2023/08/get-good-results-with-sms-hyperchrome-paints

 

[Eagle-1]

Well, that sounds great! Are you in Australia and if you ain't, how hard is this to get in the USA? Post a couple results if you would?

Rob.

 

[scalebuilderchad]

Well, that sounds great! Are you in Australia and if you ain't, how hard is this to get in the USA? Post a couple results if you would?

Rob.

Click on the link. Those are my photos and real results.

I'm in the US. I should have included places you can buy it here. USA Gundam Store usually has it. Iceman Collections has it most of the time as well. I'm sure there are some other US resellers but I don't know off the top of my head.

And here are a couple pics.

 

[Eagle-1]

Thank you. Does look promising.

Rob.

 

[DevilDustDog]

This is a topic Ive been wondering about. I can't handle the smell of bleach for soaking the included parts in, to re-paint them. And I don't like the look included in many of the parts already chromed.

 

[scalebuilderchad]

This is a topic Ive been wondering about. I can't handle the smell of bleach for soaking the included parts in, to re-paint them. And I don't like the look included in many of the parts already chromed.

I use LA's Totally Awesome. You can get it at Home Depot.

It strips chrome pretty quickly and doesn't smell too bad.

 

[Eagle-1]

This is a topic Ive been wondering about. I can't handle the smell of bleach for soaking the included parts in, to re-paint them. And I don't like the look included in many of the parts already chromed.

Chrome, 30 seconds. Gone.
Paint, 30 minutes. Gone.
Re-use it over and over.
$10 bucks for a gallon.



DO NOT substitute with this. Same shelf at Walmart, cheaper, but also garbage. You will be disappointed.



Rob.

 

[DevilDustDog]

Chrome, 30 seconds. Gone.
Paint, 30 minutes. Gone.
Re-use it over and over.
$10 bucks for a gallon.

View attachment 105188

DO NOT substitute with this. Same shelf at Walmart, cheaper, but also garbage. You will be disappointed.

View attachment 105189

Rob.

TheSuper Clean is at Walmart? I git some.

 

[Eagle-1]

Yes it is. Remember, NOT Purple Power.

You won't like that stuff.

Rob.

 

[the Baron]

Second SuperClean. I use it, too, for stripping paint, but the first application I used it for was to remove the chrome from the chromed sprue in the old Monogram Red Baron hot rod. I had to-several of those chromed parts assemble with visible seams, and there are sprue gates on them. To clean those up would have damaged the chrome. So, I removed it.
In the case of those chromed parts, the chrome dissolved into the solution in about 2 minutes' time, leaving bare styrene.
From that time, I've used SuperClean to strip paint from old metal figures, from styrene, and from resin.
On the Red Baron kit, to paint the chrome, I used Rustoleum Bright Coat Metallic Finish 7718 Chrome. It went on smoothly and it has a little of a darker chrome shade than the chrome Monogram used. It actually looked more like real chrome, according to my car modeler friends. So it became my usual color when I have to paint chrome.

Another note about SuperClean-you can reuse a batch over and over. I use glass jars of various sizes as baths for parts. Usually you can see the paint begin to dissolve, but of course, the longer you can let the piece sit, the more dissolves or softens and falls off as you remove the piece fro the bath. I use an old toothbrush to scrub gently and remove the remaining paint. I have had occasion to repeat the sequence, but generally it works in one pass.

Hope that helps!

Best regards,
Brad