any way to chrome plastic?

[menace]

I bought the krylon spray can with the "chrome" lid and lo and behold its just reflective silver paint?  Is there a commercial way to get the chrome look on plastic?

[BLACK KNIGHT]

I don't know where off the top of my head but you can chrome plastic.  My RC monster truck has chromed plastic rims on it.  So it's doable.

[Chris]

I bought the krylon spray can with the "chrome" lid and lo and behold its just reflective silver paint?  Is there a commercial way to get the chrome look on plastic?

Well, someone chromed the plastic lid...

It looks like it may not be something that can be done at home.  See http://www.muellercorp.com/chromeplatingplastic.htm or http://www.mmmetalizing.com/ .

--Chris

[SpamMe]

You may try to just contact a local plater or chromer. They may not be able to do it but I'll bet they could point you in the right direction.

[Stormy151]

Got an airbrush?

There is a kind of hobby paint called Alclad II.  They make a chrome which looks very much like real chrome.  You have to spray a gloss black undercoat before applying.  It's a lacquer, so don't spray it over an enamel.

You can find it at some hobby stores.  It comes in Gold, Chrome, Polished Aluminum, Steel, Gunmetal, Copper, etc.

If you've got to have it professionally done, most "chrome" on plastic nowadays is vacuum metalized-which is cheaper.  You can find places that do this for custom auto detailing, like hood ornaments and such- check the yellow pages and call ahead to find out what size objects they can do.

A quick way to tell the difference between real chrome or vac metallized is to touch it.  If it's cool to the touch, like metal, then it's real chrome.

[Ken Layton]

Yup, you can chrome plastic. Just look at all the chromed plastic on new cars.

[menace]

Thanks for the replies guys, I am looking to chrome the "spokes" on my steering wheels so it would need to be something I can do myself.  The hobby shop paint sounds like the way to go for this little project.

Well, someone chromed the plastic lid...

LOL--thats what I was thinking--sneaky buggers!

[Hammerbot]

The only platable plastic is ABS. The other (with a few engineered plastic exceptions) need to be painted with a "Chrome" paint.

First you have to primer the plastic with the appropriate primer. It will look good enough to fool all but the purists.

[tweeter]

hey stu,

you might be able to just use car tint on the plastic. All the kids in town have it on their "ricer" cars. The tint is cheap at crappy tire. what do you want to "chrome"