Questions - brush painted chrome

[bh1701]

I've got a car that was painted with Tamiya Lacquer spray paint. Since BMF has its issues right now, I will be hand painting the chrome trim around the windows, body side moldings, etc.  Masking around these areas and spraying the chrome silver is not an option at this point (the tape would have to go over some decals that have been applied and I am worried about damaging them).

What's the best chrome silver that I can brush on. Please note that I am not looking to use Molotow Chrome, so I'd appreciate other suggestions.

I will be applying Tamiya Clear Coat (from a spray can), also. Is there a suggested sequence for painting the chrome? Before the first clear coat, between some of the clear coats, or after all clear has been added? If done last, will the chrome paint stand up when the kit is handled/touched?

Many thanks,

Bart

[Straightliner59]

4 minutes ago, bh1701 said:

I've got a car that was painted with Tamiya Lacquer spray paint. Since BMF has its issues right now, I will be hand painting the chrome trim around the windows, body side moldings, etc.  Masking around these areas and spraying the chrome silver is not an option at this point (the tape would have to go over some decals that have been applied and I am worried about damaging them).

What's the best chrome silver that I can brush on. Please note that I am not looking to use Molotow Chrome, so I'd appreciate other suggestions.

I will be applying Tamiya Clear Coat (from a spray can), also. Is there a suggested sequence for painting the chrome? Before the first clear coat, between some of the clear coats, or after all clear has been added? If done last, will the chrome paint stand up when the kit is handled/touched?

Many thanks,

Bart

If you are going to paint the chrome on, I would do it after all the clear coats have been applied. Also, I recently saw that BMF has cleared up their issues. If you order directly from them, you should get the newest material. As for the best silver to apply with a brush--I would probably go with Testors Chrome Silver? I am sure you will get plenty of better suggestions!

[Fat Brian]

Get the Molotow refill. It's expensive but it's the best chrome you can brush on.

[Monty]

Not sure what you have against Molotow, but here are some other ideas, in no particular order, that should work well for doing chrome trim.

1) Model Master Stainless Steel (buffable).  Your biggest problem will be finding this paint, especially in the jars, as Testors discontinued the MM line awhile back.  I mention it because (IIRC) most "chrome trim" on cars is just stainless steel, as opposed to bigger pieces like bumpers, which are chrome-plated steel.

2) Green Stuff Chrome.

Watch this video starting at 8:53.  This reviewer does extensive testing of all kinds of model paint, but almost all are for air brushing.  In this video he mentions that Green Stuff offers one "chrome" for airbrushing and one for regular brushing. Pay attention to the technique he recommends, 'cuz you won't like the results otherwise.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyEoYSePYFI

HTH

 

[Sandboarder]

[bh1701]

The Green Stuff looks interesting. I may need to give this a try. I watched the video and saw that you dab it on as opposed to brushing it on. That might work for what I need to do.

• Is there a US source to order this from?
• Does it need a black undercoat, or could you dab it over other colors and still get a chrome look?

 

My concern with Molotow is that it doesn't seem to like to be handled or touched. It seems to lose its shine when this happens. Since I will be painting on the exterior of the car body, it would be prone to being touched (during or after assembly). Not sure if a clear coat over Molotow helps or not.

 

The Testor's Chrome Silver never seems like it thoroughly dries and hardens up. I had painted some of the side trim already (quite a few days ago), but while handing the car to apply decals I saw that the chrome was getting rubbed away.

 

Thanks for the ideas,

Bart

[slusher]

Have you thought about taping off your chrome and spraying it with a Tamiya silver that can be cleared?  Another popular way is metallic silver Sharpie..

[bh1701]

10 hours ago, slusher said:

Have you thought about taping off your chrome and spraying it with a Tamiya silver that can be cleared?  Another popular way is metallic silver Sharpie..

I have masked and sprayed Tamiya silver in the past and that has worked well. The model I am working on is a 71 Mustang Mach 1. There is a small chrome strip that runs above the black areas on the lower parts of the side. I had painted these strips by masking the area and brushing on Testor's chrome silver enamel. It looked great. I later applied the Mach 1 decal and stripes to one of the sides, and noticed that the silver had worn off in a few spots as my fingers had been in contact with these areas while I was positioning the decals and handling the model. 

I would be worried about applying any masking around the Mach 1 decals for fear that they would get damaged.

• Would several coats of Tamiya clear over the decals protect them from being pulled off by masking tape? (FYI: I use the Tamiya masking tapes)
• If the clear would protect the decals from being pulled off, then I could consider masking/reapplying the silver.
• If I had to brush paint the area under the Mach 1 decals without the use of masking tape, it's such a small area under that decal that I could probably free-hand the painting. My hands are very steady and I have a very fine brush and a lot of patience to use!

In retrospect, I think I probably should have used a different approach and done the following sequence. Does this make sense?

• Mask and spray paint/brush paint the chrome.
• Put several clear coats on to protect the chrome.
• Apply the decals
• Put some more clear coat on to protect the decals.

If we can learn from our mistakes, that's a good thing!

Bart

[Monty]

10 hours ago, slusher said:

Have you thought about taping off your chrome and spraying it with a Tamiya silver that can be cleared?  Another popular way is metallic silver Sharpie..

The OP was pretty specific about wanting to avoid doing that:

Masking around these areas and spraying the chrome silver is not an option at this point (the tape would have to go over some decals that have been applied and I am worried about damaging them).

[Monty]

If you're still hesitant about BMF, this stuff seems to be a decent substitute for doing trim work.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Gm-tLtjvQs

Problem: I can't seem to find anybody in the US who carries it.

[Monty]

12 hours ago, bh1701 said:

The Green Stuff looks interesting. I may need to give this a try. I watched the video and saw that you dab it on as opposed to brushing it on. That might work for what I need to do.

• Is there a US source to order this from?
• Does it need a black undercoat, or could you dab it over other colors and still get a chrome look?

The Testor's Chrome Silver never seems like it thoroughly dries and hardens up. I had painted some of the side trim already (quite a few days ago), but while handing the car to apply decals I saw that the chrome was getting rubbed away.

 

Thanks for the ideas,

Bart

Watch the video again.  He put it directly over the two plastic "hands".  It doesn't require a base black like Alclad.  All the links are at the bottom of the page.  

[TimKustom]

I will second the Green Stuff World Paint. I've used Alclad for years and I feel the GSW is more reflective, more forgiving when applying and the fact it doesn't have a Lacquer smell is also a bonus. All of the "Chrome" exhaust seen here is brush painted Green Stuff World. The rear axle and bumpers were airbrushed.

[bh1701]

Tim,

That looks really good! I did order a bottle of the Green Stuff World chrome today.

Did you brush this on like paint, or dab it on? In the video link from an above post, the host was not in favor of brushing and showed a plastic spoon that was brushed on to.

Thanks,

Bart

[bh1701]

Tim,

That looks really good. I ordered a bottle of the Green Stuff World chrome today.

Did you brush it on or dab it on? The host of the video referenced earlier was not in favor of brushing it on and showed a spoon where the chrome had been brushed on.

Thanks,

Bart

Edited April 12, 2022 by bh1701
Correct typing

[TimKustom]

1 hour ago, bh1701 said:

Tim,

That looks really good. I ordered a bottle of the Green Stuff World chrome today.

Did you brush it on or dab it on? The host of the video referenced earlier was not in favor of brushing it on and showed a spoon where the chrome had been brushed on.

Thanks,

Bart

Thanks! Since the parts were fairly large, it was a combination of dabbing and brushing. Just kept putting in on until it did what it does. Once you get it, practice on some spare parts (that's what I did) and you'll see what I mean.

I even airbrushed the non-airbrush. Squirted it my Iwata HP-CS without thinning and kind of caked it on. Quite forgiving. I've found it works best over bare plastic, dehydrate for at least 48hrs. I felt it was fairly durable, but don't try to polish it.

[Monty]

6 hours ago, Monty said:

If you're still hesitant about BMF, this stuff seems to be a decent substitute for doing trim work.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Gm-tLtjvQs

Problem: I can't seem to find anybody in the US who carries it.

That video was made very recently but in my searches, all the places that purported to have it in stock were in Europe.  If one of you has better Google skills than I do, please post a link so anyone wishing to try it can buy some.

[stinkybritches]

14 hours ago, Monty said:

That video was made very recently but in my searches, all the places that purported to have it in stock were in Europe.  If one of you has better Google skills than I do, please post a link so anyone wishing to try it can buy some.

I ordered mine directly from Green Stuff World. Took less than a month from order placement to get from wherever they are in Europe to the east coast of the U.S. I haven't used it yet so I don't have advice for give. 

[Monty]

On 4/13/2022 at 6:40 AM, stinkybritches said:

I ordered mine directly from Green Stuff World. Took less than a month from order placement to get from wherever they are in Europe to the east coast of the U.S. I haven't used it yet so I don't have advice for give. 

The video I was referring to was about another type of foil from Mig/Ammo.  I can't seem to find it listed anywhere in the US.

[stinkybritches]

47 minutes ago, Monty said:

The video I was referring to was about another type of foil from Mig/Ammo.  I can't seem to find it listed anywhere in the US.

I'm sorry. I totally missed the foil video.

[curt66140]

The Michigan Toy Soldier Company carries all of the Green Stuff line.  The chrome does show out of stock at the moment.  

www.michtoy.com