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Mirror Chrome paint - Anybody Try It?

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Mirror Chrome paint - Anybody Try It?

Old 05-27-22, 01:03 PM
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Mirror Chrome paint - Anybody Try It?

Has anybody used this stuff on a bike/frame project? I am toying with the idea of using it or something like it to "chrome" some lugs. Feedback more than welcome.

To be clear, I am not committed to this project at all. This is just early-stage "I wonder if . . . " type exploration. "Are you out of your mind?" and "Don't even think about it" are perfectly acceptable responses.

As always, thanks in advance to the Collective for any info you may have.
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Old 05-27-22, 01:09 PM
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Do you have an old seat post you could prep and test it on?

I know Groody Bros powder coating recently posted on their Instag*ram (anticipating site censor) page showing some powder "chrome" that impressed them, so it's possible other chrome paint is reaching an enlightened age.

If you try it, please post results here!
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Old 05-27-22, 02:07 PM
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I highly doubt that this would give the same mirror finish as a really good chrome job, but it very well may be better than a vintage Raleigh International chrome lug, which would be more than acceptable for a lot of applications.

Looks like a $40 experiment. I've blown more than that on a lot of goofy ideas.
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Old 05-27-22, 02:16 PM
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I've never seen metallic paint that looks like chrome, but if it lives up to the hype, why not?
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Old 05-27-22, 02:35 PM
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I struggle to think a paint alone can provide that finish. I'd expect to have to a heck of clear job on top of it, but with a can of spraymax 2K nearly anything is possible.
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Old 05-27-22, 03:08 PM
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I have, with a similar local product. While it might work, I found that I did not have the patience required for the desired result.
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Old 05-27-22, 04:11 PM
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I have not tried it but it looked promising until I viewed the videos. I suppose if one could spray or dunk it might work......but brushed on can leave brush marks unless a heavy cote is applied....videos on You Tube demonstrate this issue quite well.
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Old 05-27-22, 04:18 PM
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Old 05-27-22, 05:31 PM
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Nice, @nlerner !

My experience has been that if you polish up or at least wet sand to 1000 or 1500 grit before painting it can look quite decent.
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Old 05-27-22, 05:36 PM
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Not that stuff (and for a bottle of 15ml no thank you), but...

https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...ass-paint.html

https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...-involved.html
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Old 05-27-22, 06:38 PM
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nlerner Is it fair to say it looks like aluminum 2/3 of the way to a mirror finish polish? Kinda’ looks that way in the pic.
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Old 05-27-22, 07:59 PM
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Originally Posted by RustyJames
nlerner Is it fair to say it looks like aluminum 2/3 of the way to a mirror finish polish? Kinda’ looks that way in the pic.
The actual chromed stay in the background is meant to provide a comparison. I did the fork ends with that paint, too.

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Old 05-28-22, 01:08 AM
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Chrome Vinyl.
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Old 05-28-22, 05:26 AM
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Originally Posted by non-fixie
While it might work, I found that I did not have the patience required for the desired result.
My entire mechanical competence level.
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Old 05-28-22, 08:01 AM
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It is very hard to have a painted surface that looks like chrome plating but I haven’t tried any of the newer products that are available. It may be fine for small detail work like lugs though.
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Old 05-28-22, 03:00 PM
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I saw a new bike with chromed lugs in a bike shop a few years ago. I think it was a Fuji. It looked good. On closer inspection, the lugs were painted chrome; you could tell if you looked real close. It still looked good. I don't think it would be easy to get such a good finish from a spray can. When I've tried, I got a finish that looks quite a bit like polished aluminum that hasn't been polished in a while, which was better than it looked when I started, but not great. It made a pair of crusty steel rims look like aluminum, which is an upgrade, right?
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Old 05-28-22, 03:13 PM
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I'd try something like this if I really wanted chrome:

https://caswellplating.com/electropl...ting-kits.html

That being said, I repainted a Cinelli I have owned since new because the chrome was shot. It no longer has chrome, or China Blue paint.
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Old 05-28-22, 04:00 PM
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There are a number of chrome look finishes out there. I stumbled on a YouTube video by a plastic model kit enthusiast where he bought a bunch of brands, followed the instructions, on a few used the instructions from another brand for comparison of results.
most were sprayed on a plastic spoon for test, concave and convex sides.

some were pretty good, I don't know if headlug worthy but for half forks and stays - hundreds cheaper than chrome plating.

way back there was a bike brand from Benelux named The Dura- no chrome but impressive finish.
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Old 05-28-22, 04:39 PM
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Originally Posted by repechage
(...) way back there was a bike brand from Benelux named The Dura- no chrome but impressive finish.
It is a Belgian thing. When I bought my Toortelboom frame it was only when I got back home and put it on the stand that I noticed the "chromed" ends were actually painted ends. Very nicely done.

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Old 05-29-22, 09:10 AM
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Originally Posted by jiangshi
I'd try something like this if I really wanted chrome:

https://caswellplating.com/electropl...ting-kits.html

That being said, I repainted a Cinelli I have owned since new because the chrome was shot. It no longer has chrome, or China Blue paint.
I, too, have a Cinelli that I had repainted. It was the subject of a long paint/don't paint thread here that garnered a lot of thoughtful replies, as one would expect. It did not get rechromed for reasons too long and boring to go into here. It is that bike that led to my question in this thread.

Based on what I have read here, odds are I will not run this experiment. If I do, I will try it out on a thrashed and/or craptastic old frame first. So all I would need to get is the paint, the right brush(es), and a POS old frame no one cares about. Other than that, I have everything I'd need.

Thanks for the responses, everyone. As usual, some thoughtful responses. It sounds like no one here as used the particular product I asked about. If I try it out, I'll post the results, but don't hold you breath. .
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Old 05-29-22, 10:14 AM
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Preval canister spray system- load the thinned paint in the cup, screw on the propellant tank with spray can type tip and spray.

forgot to note that some systems point to gloss black undercoat- among other attributes is will expose surface irregularities. So, files, emery and wet sand in reducing grades is part of the process in my view. ( surface prep applied to perfect chrome plating too)

I have two forks that need plating. One is a Gios, needs strip surface prep and chrome.

another high value fork that needs a chrome crown and tip faces.

will do the Gios fork first. The other may not get done. Hydrogen embrittlement is a thing.
ask the plater if he has an oven.

final note, 531 is probably easier to work with, Columbus has chrome in it... 531 does not, so when the dechroming stops and the tube attack starts...
monitoring very much required.
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Old 05-29-22, 11:02 AM
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Has anyone tried to polish the "chrome" paint after spraying and cover the polished "chrome" with clear coat?
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Old 05-29-22, 11:18 AM
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I have no experience with the one-coat liquid that OP has shared, but did buy (and it's not cheap) some rattlecan chrome paint plus the required black undercoat, made by a company call **** Stix (I don't name them...).
I wanted to use it on a Ciocc that had severe chrome loss, but after making a test on a disposable fork, I decided "no".

This paint does give a pretty good facsimile of chrome plating, but not perfect, plus you need the surface to be perfectly smooth so lots of hand work with the best wet/dry papers and micromesh. Then the black undercoat is crucial and must also be perfect, rather than risk incompatible paints I paid another $20 on **** Stix own black paint, add that to the $26 for the chrome paint.

Then you must wait for the black to cure (several days) and get best "chrome" with thin-thin coats, laying it on thick is counter-productive.

All done the stuff is delicate and tho I did not attempt a clear top coat I have read that this can dull the shine, so at the end of experiment decided "this is not the chrome paint you seek..."

HUH! the censor robot does not like the brand name but I did not pick that and am not mentioning the brand to smear any group or individual. it's Sp_z
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