So I was standing in Sheetz the other day waiting 15 mintues for some damn nachos that take 15 seconds to put cheese on, and was thumbing through the latest R&C...at least I think it was R&C. There was a tech article about a company out west that has a new process for "almost chrome", I think it was a plasma spray deal. Anyhow, I was in a hurry and didn't buy the mag, don't have a subscription, and I can't remember the name of the company or the web addy. And it's midnight. And it's killing me. And I've googled everything I can think of. Anybody got that issue yet?
advance plating in nashville tn. had a booth set up at the frog follies in august. they had some of this stuff on display. it's very convincing. i think it's a pvd coating. fills in rough metal as smooth as glass.
The product is made by a company called Alsa. I saw it yesterday on Rides. You have to get the surface perfect to apply it, but it does look like chrome. Dragracer50 here has used it on that 55 gasser of his employee's front end. Looks great. Go to www.alsacorp.com
Story was 'Super Chrome' & it's about vacuum metal plating - website is http://www.vacuummetalcoating.com
I second that. The Alsa stuff is expensive and you gotta jump through hoops only to be underwelmed with the final product
Are you saying the story in the magazine he was reading was 'Super Chrome', or the one I saw on Rides? Because on Rides they introduced a rep from Alsa and showed how it was sprayed on wet. It really looks like chrome. 'Super Chrome' is a powder-coating process.
Chrome plating is such an involved process....prepping the base piece to smoothness...base layer of copper...buff again...heavy coat of nickel (which gives the "depth" & beauty of "chrome plating")...buff again...& a final flash layer of chrome to protect the nickel... I just don't see how any other process would give you the same quality of appearance, IMHO. You can see into a good chrome plating, something like a mirror...I think it would take a LOT of work & money to duplicate that with any kind of paint or coating process. The attempts I've seen have all looked like model kit plating (which IS vacuum metal plating), cheap, thin, & too shiny. It would be great if it could be done,but.... I've seen a lot of PVD processed stuff, & it's a great thing for alternative finishes, especially in the faucet industry, where brass plating gets eaten alive by hard water & abuse...but even there, faucet makers still use plating for actual "chrome" finish faucets. Good ones, anyway. Even PVD brass finishes aren't quite up to brass plating in terms of appearance. Wish I'd married a girl with a father in the chrome plating business.
Homespun has it right, the vacuum deposited stuff is VERY thin. It will not hide any surface blemishes. One big advantage is you can put metals on that are not normally able to electroplate, such as aluminum. Al is what the R&C article used. True good chrome plating is three layers, hence the name "triple plated". Which is a first copper layer, then nickel, then a final layer of chrome. The nickel is the primary corrosion control, the chrome is for shiny, and the copper provides a smoothing effect especially when buffed before the nickel. As the EPA makes chrome harder to do, it gets more expensive and these alternatives start to become an option. I think there is possibililty to look more into these options, but right now they do not replace real chrome plating.
Not sure if you're being a dick or not, but I'm thinking maybe. I have no issues with paying for real chrome, I had a particular application in mind for this process. Most of the plated stuff on my current project is nickle anyhow, very little chrome.
"Chrome" paint used to be available in spray cans - and still may be. It goes on a touch dull and is only useful to spray over an area of a bumper that got discolored by exhaust gasses. At a glance, it's not noticeable, but a closer look shows a dull brushed aluminum type surface. Useful in some areas, but not as any kind of replacement for chrome.
wasn't being a dick but that can be arrranged. just kidding. anyway, there is only one true way to chrome is what i was getting at and everything else will not be up to par as far as i can see. i just mentioned it because here in illinois you have to send shit outta state cause i'm pretty sure it's still illegal to chrome here and if your in a hurry you might have to go to the extreme. like painting it on. i think billy gibbons girlfriend's caddy that for some reason got it' own special on rides had the top painted with chrome paint. might want to check that out.
Check these guys out: http://www.goldtouchinc.com/english.html You'll need a special gun to spray it, but it's basically electric-less silverplating with an acrylic clear over it. I called 'em up for a free DVD and some samples of painted PVC pipes at the beginning of the summer. I gave the kids the PVC elbow to play with in the sandbox for a few months, then took it out and ran it through the dishwasher a few times before employing it as a bath toy, and it still looks pretty good! Man, 1.5-year-old twins are the ultimate torture test. Anyway, I was sceptical at first, but after this, I think I'd rather have my plastic interior parts shot with this stuff than vacuum metalized at Mr. G's or something. On metal parts, I'm sure it's just as good. Granted, it'll never be chrome, but if you acknowlege the fact that it's just paint (albeit really good looking paint that really looks like chrome) and treat it as such, there should be little problems with it. Hell, I even hear Chrysler has approved it for OEM use. The only bummer is that is subject to the same rules as paint, and you might want to paint your valve covers with it, unless you have a high-temperature clear coat to put over the silver. I seriously considered purchasing their system to make a few bucks "chroming" Escalade and PT Cruiser parts, but money's just too tight right now. Still, check out the site (especially the bike parts, and the chrome paint with different colored clear over it on the helmets, etc) - it's pretty interesting, especially because it's non-toxic and won't hurt my kids, and the waste is technically the same scrap silver waste that any film developing company also creates, and is readily sold to recovery companies! ~Jason
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