The old chrome in a can use to look pretty cheasy, any improvements over the years? I want to paint my fiberglass bumpers to look close to regular on a super stock style car. I'm open to spray paint or will spray it if needed.
there's a company in FLA that uses a chrome powder coating that looks good in the pic's. I'll google it at work later today and post a link.
powdercoat wont do much when shot @ a 'glass' bumper i think HoK makes a base/base/clear that'd work and look well, but from what i remember when i talked to an HoK rep/dealer it AIN'T cheap nor easy to apply
If your bumper doesn't have too much in the way of sharp turns and/or compound curves the 'chrome' trim stuff from TopFlite Models may work. IE: something simple like a 41 Willys or 40 Ford bumper. Found at any shop that caters to R/C Model Aircraft. The regular wings/fuselage covering - available in a wide spectrum of colors - goes on with an iron and gets shrunk to fit with a heat gun. I think the trim stuff is a little thicker, has a backer that gets peeled off and goes on like shelf paper. Then the heat-shrink iron is used. The R/C airplanes I've seen it on, it looks very much like buffed aluminum.
Anyone close to you still do vacuum metallizing? My Grandfather used to run a shop eons ago. I know there are still companies out there. Don't know if it's cost effective, but it's got to be cheaper than the HOK stuff.
I'd be afraid of the 20 minutes at 400 degrees to powder coat a fiberglass bumper. The model guys probably know of a place to have plastic chromed. The Mustang restorers might have a place to get their dash bezels redone. I sent my Chevelle plastic bezels to Texas umpteen years ago. It's a specialized service. A true SS clone would have a flat silver glass bumper. That was the best that they could get back then. Make them too shiny and it won't look like a period race car. JMO
http://www.alsacorp.com/products/killercans/kc/killerchrome_price.htm in cans http://alsacorp.com/products/mirrachrome/mirra_prodinfo.htm full set up.
If you read the Tech Manual on the HoK Kosmic Krome stuff, it's pretty scary. There's a lot of steps and it sounds like if you don't get each one right, the effect is blown. There's a local motorcycle shop here that has a "spray chrome" machine. It uses silver nitrate (like the stuff to make mirrors). He said that it turns gold when it gets super hot- like on motorcycle engine case pieces. But it looks good, IMO.
The alsa stuff is what I had seen. I believe it is a suspension of powder in resin rather than a paint pigment. And yes, it does not have to be metal, they showed a small plastic football "chromed" on the web site which they squeezed to prove it woudn't crack or peel.
wow these are some cool suggestions, that "killer chrome" looks cool but not ready to spend that much this time around. I went thunderbolt style with my 64 fairlane and still havent painted it, the first few real thunderbolts had polished aluminum bumpers and I thought that would be bitchen to recreate, I also have to go with paint because I kept the rear bumper steel for weight and safety and had it dechromed. anybody know of a nice spraypaint that looks like that SS chevy bumper paint? I'll settle for that.
The chrome shop that I used to work for started doing the Alsa stuff. It's costly material and it's very time consuming if you want it to look like chrome. Some of the stuff they did was fantastic, looked just like plating. They did some shoes in a red tinted Alsa and it was pretty impressive, flexed fine too. They'll do your bumpers for you and it'll look like the real thing, but it'll cost about the same as the real thing too. Cheap work ain't good and good work ain't cheap.
check out this stuff called alclad. it's a laquer, that is for spraying over plastics. it requires a black base coat, and when sprayed on...looks very much like real chrome. it can be buffed, to a high luster. alot of guys i know use this on model car parts, but it has a ton of uses. but i do not know what the durabilty woudl be if it's exposed to the weather. considering that it's laquer...i would think that it would be ok. http://www.alclad2.com/alclad-home.html
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