Chrome Sheets

[peteski]

The MIG stuff seems similar to the Hasegawa Mirror Finish foil (which is quite expensive).

[moparfarmer]

Somebody showed something bought from Hobby Lobby a few days ago..Can't remember if its this site or another. Its on a roll and very thin and lots of chrome. Price shown on spool was $1.98 plus taxes..Unfortunately No Hobby Lobby here in Winnipeg so I can't look for it..Looked real interesting though..

[Erik Smith]

A quick follow up:

The MIG Chrome sheet did not stay adhered overnight. In the first photo you can see it did not stick to the window trim contour. This is bare unwashed plastic, so results may vary. 
 

The next photos I compared a new (purchased today) BMF Chrome sheet, an old BMF New Improved Chrome, and MIG’s Aluminum Sheet. The MIG Aluminum is actually a foil product, unlike the Chrome. It’s quite a bit thicker than BMF and the adhesive is a lot stronger - which depending on what your doing with it could be a good or a bad thing. 
 

Notice the Chrome BMF I purchased today has a lot of texture is the adhesive. It was a lot worse before burnishing down with a Q Tip, but it’s still a little rough. 
 

The old sheet of New Improved Chrome actually still looks the best, it has some adhesive texture but overall better than the sheet I bought today. 
 

Finally, the MIG Aluminum Sheet has some lined texture but not so much adhesive texture. It doesn’t lay down as well as BMF because if it’s thickness, but I do see some possibilities imitating aluminum panels and such and maybe some trim. It would represent actual scale thickness of trim and if used right could be a useful addition. It’s the same price as the Chrome, about $12 for five decent sized sheets. 
 

*note - I burnished with a cotton q tip and then tried polishing each one in the middle section to see if it would get more “chromey”. You can decide if it did. 
 

I have a piece of the Hasegawa Chrome coming from Peter (Peteski) so I will add that in here soon. 

Edited February 19, 2022 by Erik Smith

[Can-Con]

That MIG stuff looks like just regular heating duct foil tape to me.

[SfanGoch]

And works just as well on models.

[Dpate]

5 hours ago, Erik Smith said:

A quick follow up:

The MIG Chrome sheet did not stay adhered overnight. In the first photo you can see it did not stick to the window trim contour. This is bare unwashed plastic, so results may vary. 
 

The next photos I compared a new (purchased today) BMF Chrome sheet, an old BMF New Improved Chrome, and MIG’s Aluminum Sheet. The MIG Aluminum is actually a foil product, unlike the Chrome. It’s quite a bit thicker than BMF and the adhesive is a lot stronger - which depending on what your doing with it could be a good or a bad thing. 
 

Notice the Chrome BMF I purchased today has a lot of texture is the adhesive. It was a lot worse before burnishing down with a Q Tip, but it’s still a little rough. 
 

The old sheet of New Improved Chrome actually still looks the best, it has some adhesive texture but overall better than the sheet I bought today. 
 

Finally, the MIG Aluminum Sheet has some lined texture but not so much adhesive texture. It doesn’t lay down as well as BMF because if it’s thickness, but I do see some possibilities imitating aluminum panels and such and maybe some trim. It would represent actual scale thickness of trim and if used right could be a useful addition. It’s the same price as the Chrome, about $12 for five decent sized sheets. 
 

*note - I burnished with a cotton q tip and then tried polishing each one in the middle section to see if it would get more “chromey”. You can decide if it did. 
 

I have a piece of the Hasegawa Chrome coming from Peter (Peteski) so I will add that in here soon. 

Crazy how the new improved BMF looks so much better than the regular chrome.

[Erik Smith]

Another follow up. 
 

Peteski (Peter) was super kind and sent a piece of Hasegawa Mirror Finish so I could compare with the other products. 
 

First up I put the MIG chrome sheets up against the Hasegawa Mirror Finish. The Hasegawa product is much thinner and very mirror-like. It’s a type of Mylar or something and is equally mirror-like on the adhesive side. If you hold it up to light, you can see through it, so it’s not opaque, but, yeah, like Mylar. 
 

Second set of photos I put the Hasegawa Mirror next to the BMF samples. Again, the Hasegawa is by far the shiniest. It’s really hard to even photograph as it’s either too bright or looks dark. It conforms a lot better than the MIG chrome product but still is not flexible like BMF. As you can see, though, the adhesive on the Hasegawa product is very smooth - all the other products suffer from one degree or another with the adhesive showing in the final burnish / but the Hasegawa is super smooth. 
 

I also tried a little along some window trim to see how it would work. It kind of works. Definitely not forgiving like BMF. It doesn’t stretch much so it’s difficult to get it pushed into tight spots or onto script, although not impossible. It also catches air bubbles like window tint, so it takes some careful application. 
 

Overall the Hasegawa Mirror Finish is a very promising product. For mirrors or taillight backing and such I think it would work excellent - probably the best mirror finish I know of.  For some specific trim pieces it would also work. 
 

Just going to add the Hasegawa sheets are the most expensive - they are $15-18 for a small 90mm by 200mm sheet - or toss them into a model order from Plaza Japan where they are 900 yen. 

Edited February 24, 2022 by Erik Smith

[CabDriver]

That’s a REALLY useful comparison.

I’d bet that the Hasegawa stuff is some variation on chrome vinyl wrap material - it sounds a LOT like it from your description.  Same stuff they use to wrap 1:1 cars sometimes - it HAS to be a little stretchy so it covers curves nicely, and with a little heat will lay down even nicer.  I’ve got some here  that I’ve been meaning to experiment with…

[Bainford]

Eric, thanks much for the comprehensive comparison. Very helpful indeed. 
Compared to BMF, how difficult is it to trim the Hasegawa stuff once applied on the model? How well does it stick? 

[Erik Smith]

3 minutes ago, Bainford said:

Eric, thanks much for the comprehensive comparison. Very helpful indeed. 
Compared to BMF, how difficult is it to trim the Hasegawa stuff once applied on the model? How well does it stick? 

It’s slightly more difficult to trim - because it’s a little thicker, maybe? Or it’s just the difference of material. Also, it doesn’t “break away” like BMF of you miss a little tag while trimming, if that makes sense. The adhesive seems pretty strong, but I’ll check it in the morning to see if it held the curves of the trim. On flat surfaces it holds very well. 

Edited February 24, 2022 by Erik Smith

[peteski]

Erik, thank you for doing this comparison.  I was more than happy to provide you with a sample, especially since you already had several other types of foil at your disposal (and I don't).

Like Jim, I think it is some sort of extremely thin vinyl wrap type of material (In my experience Mylar is not very stretchy).  Hasegawa foil does have some stretchiness, but nowhere like the original BMF.  The problem with that is that if its stretched into a depression in the model, even though it has a strong adhesive, after some time (sometimes couple of days) it will start relaxing to its original un-stretched state.  Also unlike BMF, it cannot be "compressed" slightly -- it will just wrinkle.

But it is by far the shiniest and smoothest foil.  It will work well for straight chrome trim (like side moldings), or for large mostly flat areas.

Edited February 24, 2022 by peteski

[Bainford]

11 hours ago, Erik Smith said:

It’s slightly more difficult to trim - because it’s a little thicker, maybe? Or it’s just the difference of material. Also, it doesn’t “break away” like BMF of you miss a little tag while trimming, if that makes sense. The adhesive seems pretty strong, but I’ll check it in the morning to see if it held the curves of the trim. On flat surfaces it holds very well. 

Cheers, Erik. That makes perfect sense. I think all these 'chrome' products will have their place. Some will work where others don't do so well. As you mentioned, the Hasegawa stuff looks great for mirrors, which is good as my stock of mirror material is dwindling, and I've been looking for a suitable replacement. Thanks again for the effort to compare these products.

[1972coronet]

At the +/- 15:40 marque Hasegawa Mirror [?] Adhesive. Mr. Lin typically paints brightwork around the windscreen, backlight, drip rails, etc. - here he's employing the Hasegawa trim on the sides. 

 

 

[Dpate]

6 hours ago, 1972coronet said:

At the +/- 15:40 marque Hasegawa Mirror [?] Adhesive. Mr. Lin typically paints brightwork around the windscreen, backlight, drip rails, etc. - here he's employing the Hasegawa trim on the sides. 

 

 

Wow that was fantastic.  I have some of that stuff and there wood versions too.  This does have it's place regardless if it replaces BMF or not it's still nice.  

[Oldcarfan27]

Speaking of vinyl wrap, I've noticed some chrome looking vinyl in the paper craft section of Hobby Lobby. It's meant for various uses, like cards, scrapbooking, and even ironed on to T-shirts, but I wonder if it could be coerced onto model surfaces and if a little warm air from a hair drier would help it snuggle down. Anybody ever seen or used it before?

I've also seen other shiny sheets of films in other departments, but am not sure how they'd work either. So if anyone has tried any of them, let us know. 

[stitchdup]

1 hour ago, Oldcarfan27 said:

Speaking of vinyl wrap, I've noticed some chrome looking vinyl in the paper craft section of Hobby Lobby. It's meant for various uses, like cards, scrapbooking, and even ironed on to T-shirts, but I wonder if it could be coerced onto model surfaces and if a little warm air from a hair drier would help it snuggle down. Anybody ever seen or used it before?

I've also seen other shiny sheets of films in other departments, but am not sure how they'd work either. So if anyone has tried any of them, let us know. 

I would expect them to not work, the vinyl is fairly thick and the heat needed to make it conform would warp the styrene. Hair dryers are alot hotter than people think and cause a large number of serious burns each year. It would work for diecast metal parts though

[Michael jones]

The problem with the Hasegawa mirror finish, is that it is very stretch and therefore hard to cut....You have to apply a lot more pressure than BMF so therefore is going to damage the paint work if you get it wrong. Looks much better than BMF for reflectiveness however. It probably works great if precut to the correct shape and size. The thickness isn't really an issue...

[Len Woodruff]

Thx for posting this info.

[crazyjim]

Very interesting & informative posts for the different types of chrome coverings.  Thank you.

[peteski]

6 hours ago, Michael jones said:

The problem with the Hasegawa mirror finish, is that it is very stretch and therefore hard to cut....You have to apply a lot more pressure than BMF so therefore is going to damage the paint work if you get it wrong. Looks much better than BMF for reflectiveness however. It probably works great if precut to the correct shape and size. The thickness isn't really an issue...

If by cutting you mean trimming the film after it is applied to the model, I don't see cutting as a problem.Very sharp hobby knife or scalpel work well (just like with BMF). But if the film has to be made to conform (stretched) to adhere to depressions it will eventually want to return to its unstretched state.  That is a  problem.

[1972coronet]

1 hour ago, peteski said:

If by cutting you mean trimming the film after it is applied to the model, I don't see cutting as a problem.Very sharp hobby knife or scalpel work well (just like with BMF). But if the film has to be made to conform (stretched) to adhere to depressions it will eventually want to return to its unstretched state.  That is a  problem.

I should enquire to Mr. Lin about his experiences with that Hasegawa 'foil'. Ostensibly, he's aware that it should only be used on straight, "plain" trim, as he typically paints the windscreen, etc., trim with Mr. Hobby Gun Chrome.
I wonder how 'tacky' it stays, for how long. If the stuff shrinks and/or loses its adhesion within a short time frame, then it's no good. However, I don't believe that Hasegawa would offer a product that's known to have issues.

[Rick L]

On 2/19/2022 at 8:13 PM, Can-Con said:

That MIG stuff looks like just regular heating duct foil tape to me.

It may look like it but it is not. I don’t know what it is exactly but it is not Mylar. It is .001 thicker than BMF and works very well on straight lines that have straight or subtle rollovers. This corvette is a guinea pig for testing and was done a while ago. It’s still holding up. The MIG is not BMF but if you use BMF often it can replace it in certain applications at a cheaper cost.

[peteski]

4 hours ago, 1972coronet said:

I wonder how 'tacky' it stays, for how long. If the stuff shrinks and/or loses its adhesion within a short time frame, then it's no good. However, I don't believe that Hasegawa would offer a product that's known to have issues.

I agree that Hasegawa products are high quality. I also did not say that it shrinks.  It merely tries to go return to its relaxed state if it was burnished into depressions on the model's surface.  That process does take several days, and it doesn't fully flatten, but I can take a toothpick and press the foil back into the concave area.  It is likely because it is a stretchy plastic film which wants to go back to its relaxed state (because it was not stretched enough to permanently deform it).  When metal foils are used for the same task, the metal permanently stretches into the concave areas.  The Hasegawa adhesive seems quite strong and I don't think it will dry out.

[Michael jones]

15 hours ago, peteski said:

If by cutting you mean trimming the film after it is applied to the model, I don't see cutting as a problem.Very sharp hobby knife or scalpel work well (just like with BMF). But if the film has to be made to conform (stretched) to adhere to depressions it will eventually want to return to its unstretched state.  That is a  problem.

Have you actually tried the stuff? It is much harder to cut on the model than BMF with a scalpel (I compared it in a quick test on the same day with same blade - but not a brand new blade). it is very very flexable, means when you put a scalpel through it, it tries to pull the chrome instead of cutting it, unlike BMF which cuts very easily with a scalpel on the model.  But as I said before, it looks much better than BMF and if pre cut, I can see it being a better product for that situation.

Mike

[peteski]

12 minutes ago, Michael jones said:

Have you actually tried the stuff? It is much harder to cut on the model than BMF with a scalpel (I compared it in a quick test on the same day with same blade - but not a brand new blade). it is very very flexable, means when you put a scalpel through it, it tries to pull the chrome instead of cutting it, unlike BMF which cuts very easily with a scalpel on the model.  But as I said before, it looks much better than BMF and if pre cut, I can see it being a better product for that situation.

Mike

I did few small tests some months ago, when I first received my sheet, and I don't recall having problems trimming it on the model. Maybe I'm not remembering it. I do agree that it looks just like chrome, where the BMF has slightly duller look, and a slightly warm tone.