Chrome Finish on Plastic- Did I Find the Answer?

This week I tackle trying to achieve a mirror finish on our hood ornament reproductions from our carnival ride restoration.

Testing various finishes in search of the ultimate mirror chrome finish achievable in the home shop with commonly available items.

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Know of a ride that needs rescued?
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[novascotianow]

45 years ago I was working on a beautiful Art Deco home with highly chromium looking handrails on the staircase.
I learned that the secret was a Pepto Bismol pink paint as a base colour before the silver was applied. In the old days, orange was used after the silvering was applied to a mirror to enhance its clarity. Thanks for the nail polish trick.

[Seemsayin]

The nail polish people HAVE been holding out on us.
I bought the polish, the UV resin gel, and the curing unit. Came out to $50 for everything.
Grabbed a printed scrap of black PLA I don't think the PLA's color means anything. Painted a small section. WOW.
The resin is a little on the thick side, but not enough to leave brush marks. It self-levels. One minute under the light, and put your color on. Damn... good stuff.
The finish is like a shiny, anodized look... Like colored chrome, but more of a nickel finish. Doesn't smear. Better than any paint I've EVER used.

Thanks, Pete!

[Pan_Galactic_Gargle_Blaster]

part of the reason the nail polish performed so well is because of the glossy surface it created before applying the metallic pigment. if you want good chrome finish, you need a good high gloss surface or else the chrome will be more of a semi gloss which in turn makes it less reflective. also with metallic paints it helps to do a wetter coat to allow for a smoother surface finish and to let the metallic flakes have a chance to settle in the paint.

[EliB]

Sometimes I just sense good energy from people in videos, you just give off good hearted vibe. Thanks for the video Pete

[hughobrien]

I’ve been looking on and off for a reliable review on products claiming to achieve a chrome finish.
Just took over two weeks to get this video across my feed.
You did a great job and provided great information.
Thank you so much!

[visverkoper]

I used to work for a company that did vacuum metalizing. The process was to spray the plastic item with laquer and clamp them on a rack that goes into a vacuum chamber. the rack would spin the plastic items slowly. the rack had tungston wires that aluminum tabs would be placed on. After a high vacuum was achieved, a low voltage, high current charge was applied to the aluminum tabs instantly vaporizing them. The aluminum vapor would stick to the lastic parts leaving a beautiful mirror finish. So if you can find an outfit that does vacuum metalizing, they could hook you up.

[jodezero]

I do a lot of Hot Wheels customs and found Molotow Chrome pens give an amazing shine. Never tried it on large surfaces. Cool video.
And Nail shops have great stuff for scale model building

[lyonanddebanderson]

I'm a professional mode builder, chrome is the "holy grail for plastic models". I am currently building a 1941 Ryan P-22 trainer (first mono wing aircraft with shocks on landing gear). Your video was extremely helpful thank you. I have not tired it yet, but the nail polish sounds interesting. Thank you, Mr. Rondeau.

[JeremyMakesThings]

I’d be interested to see some thoughts on durability of the various finishes too. I’m thinking the nail polish might have an advantage there too.

[paulscarrestorations]

Did you do any tests to see how robust these finishes are? would be interesting to see what lasts and what doesn't.

[dominatorcda]

I'm feeling enamored at the look of that nail powder! Thanks for making this!

[Seemsayin]

Thank you so much for taking the time, and making the investment to make this video possible.
That nail paint finish is incredible!

[learman]

Alclad has been my go-to chrome finish. 2 part process, it has a black first coat then silver top coat (silver top coat lays down really fast so go gentle). Air brush application but looks like a chrome mirror when done.

[George-pgii]

Wow! This is one of the most amazing comparison videos that I've ever seen. Thanks for making it. I finally know what some of those products I've been doubtful about will look like, and what to try to use to re-mirror some headlights.

[CitroenDS]

Excellent comparisons, thank you. I resorted to glueing alfoil (shiny side up) on some parts which worked very well but was susceptible to marks and touching. I will be trying the nail polish for sure!!

[Choom]

Fantastic video on chroming plastics. Thank you so much for providing this for us Pete!!! 👌

[DIYGene]

Fantastic video. I would have never thought of using nail polish as a chrome finish. I am going to have to try that out. Thanks for the great information. 👍

[DistractedDaisy]

That was fun. Those nail salons do dome beautiful work.

[agnesazulindqvist]

Thank you for this video! Very interesting to see different kinds of techniques - and to see that what i've been using, nail chrome powder, is the winner haha. I've used it on sword props and cosplay armor pieces. It also comes in loads of colors too.
A good no-wipe UV top coats can be hard to come by, because not all of them work with powders, it's very brand-dependent. A non-dry UV top coat that you have to wipe also works - but only if you wipe off the inihibition with a DRY cloth/nail-wipe and really try to rub it clean (Not using any alcohol, because that just removes the tackiness) before buffing in the nail powder. Also, if your dry no-wipe top coat is too "dry" and no powder will stick to it - try applying a teeny tiny amount of uncured coat and rub it in vigorously to just create a tacky surface, apply the powder and then cure.
I've found that using some water-based lacquers also works. I've used Liquitex. Great if you already have a smooth finish that could be ruined with applying the UV resin coat. Airbrush it or paint it with a brush and let it dry for a while until it's not tacky anymore, between 30min-4h or more depending on the brand, and then buff in the powder. I tried coating it with the same gloss afterwards and went OK, i think.

And a quick note with something that needs to be said; normal nail polish top coats will not work, sadly. It has to be the UV kind.

[colbymerchlewitz]

Thanks for the input with the resin and the nail polish, I ordered the exact same setup for a Mack R Model Semi truck i am putting together.