dbhouston 

I've got a 1979-ish Austro-Daimler Vent Noir II project. Originally, these bikes had a beautiful "smoked chrome" finish, which looks like a tinted chrome. Unfortunately, my bike was previously scrubbed down to just the chrome, and I've pretty much finished removing any trace of the noir in cleaning up the frame. So, I've looked around for something like a translucent paint suitable for laying over chrome, or a tinted clearcoat. Either way, the goal is to return the finish to its orignial beauty.

Here's the bike in its current chrome finish.

Spray.Bike makes an interesting tinted clearcoat called Blackfriars Clear: https://spraybike.us/collections/poc...rs-clear-200ml

Does anyone have experience with this, or with Spray.Bike regular clear? There are plenty of sponsored videos out there that get good results with their products, but my proposed use is not typical. I would hope to lay down 2-3 coats of this tinted clear in the hope of ending up with a darkened, glossy chrome finish that is durable. I'm just not sure how it would do over chrome or whether their clear is even very durable.

Or any other ideas? Truthfully, the bike will be pretty with replacement decals in gold and a good wax on top, but they are so pretty in the smoked chrome finish, I'd like to try to get there.

The Golden Boy 

I wish you luck- I have a Black Chrome Schwinn that's looking kinda rough- but I love that Black Chrome.

oneclick 

I've been playing with this idea a few times. With a rattle-can tinted clear over chrome I found it needed about 15-20 coats, each extremely thin, to get a nice even colour with no sags. I haven't used this brand of paint but suspect you may have a similar experience. I was trying for a deep colour, it may be that you won't need that many.

Get a bit of chrome-plated tubing (shower-rail?) and experiment. If in the end it does not work you have a simple strip to a nice finish anyway.

dbhouston 

Thanks for the feedback. I've ordered three cans of the stuff - awfully expensive for what it is - and will experiment before trying on the frame. I'll let you know how it works out.

xiaoman1 

Op,
There was a recent thread here about this do-it-yourself Cromovelato but I can't find it., another member used a tinted clear from Duplicolor or maybe a stained glass paint on a few frames and it seemed to work well.
I believe any high-quality color-tinted clear would work.
Be sure to wipe the frame clean of any oils before painting...paint will have a difficult time adhering to chrome unless prepped properly.
Here is a link: https://www.duplicolor.com/product/m...omotive-paint/
There are many other "candy" paints out there, find one you like and do the prep.
Best, Ben

b2bstam

worth paint a bicycle with spraybike?

francophile 

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unworthy1

spray.bike paints are advertised as "acrylic" and said to be "softer" than such very hard resins such as 2-pack urethanes (such as Imron). Most any clear will exhibit poor adhesion to polished surfaces such as chrome plating and spray.bike's website warns that their paint (all sorts) will not adhere well to titanium. They want all surfaces to be cleaned with rubbing alcohol (and they warn multiple times to NOT USE acetone so they must mean it!) My guess is this will not be the same as original "smoked chrome" and maybe about as durable over shiny chrome as lacquers (the trad "cromovelato" finish) which is to say NOT very durable. But if you decide to try it please report back on the results, short and long term.

dbhouston 

Thanks! And, yeah, to be clear, I'm not talking about repainting anything, though I do kind of want to find another project where I can mess with the whole spray.bike system someday.

This project calls for a translucent coat of some sort, and a tinted clear feels like the safest option. The spray.bike one I've ordered is basically their clear, tinted black. The only reviews I've found of their clear are in the context of using it over their paint, which provides it's own unusually textured surface.

I did read/watch about the Dupli-Color product specifically marketed for darkening chrome (this one: https://www.duplicolor.com/product/s...k-out-coating/) and it doesn't appear to be very durable.

oneclick, what brands of tinted clear did you use on your projects? I have seen your pictures, and that effect is certainly getting into the neighborhood of what the Vent Noir wants to look like.

Anyway, I'll do some experimenting with the stuff when it arrives and let y'all know.

oneclick 

Testors for the Cinelli (not available anymore but I have a few cans squirreled away), Krylon for the Torpados, and there's a can I just saw in the auto paint racks that promises a nice dark blue tint, will be trying that on the next CV CV project. There is a grafitti paint supplier that also has some interesting transparent colours but I can't remember who they are, shipping was eye-watering.

guy153

I don't know about chromovelato but I can get a pretty nice sprizzosplattato finish with spray.bike.

3alarmer 

...for what they charge for Spraybike paints, my own opinion is that for the use you propose (a sort of chromovelato finish, but in black), your best bet would be to spray it out in a transparent enamel in the shade you want ( like this one from Testors), and overcoat that and the decals with a 2 part urethane finish, like Spraymax.

Personally, I would experiment with roughing the chrome slightly on something else that doesn't matter to you, like an old steel seat post or bar, and see if that gives you an acceptable appearance. But the Spraymax has a limited pot life, once mixed, so you need to do your experimenting right before you want to paint.

The main problem with all the old chromovelato finishes (as already stated), is their fugitive nature. The lacquers used often fade over time, and the adhesion to polished chrome was terrible.

Don't rough the chrome until you are certain that you can get an acceptable final result from your testing. My own projects have turned out well doing this, because the overcoating of the 2K clear coat provides so much depth and gloss. With a thinner paint layer, that might not prove to be the case.

unworthy1

The other big brands for "Graffiti Art" spray cans are Montana and Molotow, they seem almost interchangeable, similar packaging/marketing and both are AFAIK produced in the EU as is Spray.bikes paint. (Greece versus Germany and "somewhere in Europe"). They almost all are some form of acrylic, when they disclose their formulas. The upside is the ENORMOSE color range and choice of spray nozzle/caps. Downside is most are not glossy finish, if that's something you need. Last comment: I only painted one frame with "grafitti" paint and was not expecting much durability even after a good cure-time it seemed soft. The "customer" liked this semi-matte finish (he picked the color/brand) but no idea how it has held up cause that bike went far way (to Spain) and lost track.

mstateglfr 

Ive used their clear and also a couple of their keirin sparkle clears. They have both lasted multiple years now and the regular clear is on one of my kids' MTBs so its not like its been babied.