prestonlal

Hey guys, Just thought I'd post a quick tutorial on how I painted my bumpers etc in chrome. I have had a few question from people here and on other sites about it. Please note that this is all new to me and like most of the stuff I have done, just an experiment that turned out pretty neat! The chrome I used comes in bottles for air brushing, but years ago when I was only doing lexan bodies, i also bought it in spray cans. The bottles that I bought were the Spaz Stix Ultimate Mirror Chrome and their Ultimate Black Backer. I recently purchased an airbrush system because I thought that I will need more control painting the smaller pieces , so airbrushing is pretty new to me. Initially my plan for the bumper was bare metal foil, but after doing some research on the web, I saw that some people were getting some mixed results with the Spaz Stix on the outside of hard plastic, so decided to buy a couple of the bottles to try. After experimenting with some plastic spoons, I found a method that works for me, as the methods described on the web was not giving the results I wanted. the pieces to be 'chromed' must be completely smooth and level, or the variations will show up with the chrome. So I primed the bumper with tamiya spray primer, ( a few initial coats) wet sanded with 800,1500 then 2000. Sprayed another 2 coats of primer, wet sanded with 1500 then 2000. This gave me a really smooth and level surface. The black backer is applied first. After experimenting, I found that using 12-15 psi with a high paint flow with the brush held about 2-4 inches away worked for me. Too much psi and and too far away, the paint dries with orange peel before it could level out. Spray it on wet in about 2-3 quick passes and it should level out and let it air dry. The chrome I spray at 30 psi with a low or minimum paint flow. Mist it on with a few passes, then, once it's misted on all over, spray it evenly with the same mist technique till it's covered entirely. I let it air dry for about 30 mins, then I use a hair dryer with low heat to dry it out for about 5mins, keep the dryer moving don't let the heat build up too much on the piece. Let it sit for about 30 mins then I buff it out with a clean micro fiber cloth like they sell in the auto store for cars. Well ...that's my technique ....lol...hope I wasn't too long and drawn out for you and hope it works for you if you decide to try it!

Hey guys, I did a quick tutorial on how I painted the bumpers in chrome.... http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/topic/115937-painting-chrome/

Hey guys....Lookee what I found.... The emblem...

Some daylight pics....

Thanks Foxer! Thanks mate! It's Spaz Stix Mirror Chrome.

Hey guys....another :update: Made the bumper shiny.... Also chromed up the steering wheel spokes... Will get some daylight pics in the morning..... Next task is to get the body primed in white...then after a couple days, wet sand and prep for paint... Anywho....some pics...

Got the bumper painted black again tonight...this time I'm letting it dry on its own...lol...no hair dryer..Also got the steering wheel spokes painted and prepped for chrome... Will spray the chrome tomorrow evening when I get off work and will post up some pics a couple hours afterwards when I can buff them out...

Some daylight pics....:blink:

Got the chrome laid down on the grille....and like a big dummy, I think I left the emblems back home...really thought I brought them along with me....will have another look for them in a while.... Think I messed up the top of the front bumper...havent sprayed the chrome as yet, just the black...basically you spray it on thick so it levels out and dries with a mirror like smoothness....so I decided to speed up the drying by using a hair dryer, didn't realize that it was on high, so it blew the paint into ripples....:facepalm: when it dries I will have to level it out with some wet sanding...then respray the black...:wacko: the sides look okay...its just the top.....will try to get a few more daylight pics in the morning before I go to work... You can see the side of the bumper looks nice and smooth...and you can see the ripples on the top....looks okay on the car, but the chrome is gonna highlight every detail of the ripple...:puke: Can't believe I left the emblems back home...would have loved to see how it looked against the black grille with the chrome surround.... Watcha think?

Hey guys, another small :update: :facepalm:.... Well the last two-three weeks were a bit hectic....moved upstate to work for the summer...things are finally settling down a bit, so will have some more time to continue..brought the Sandman with me, as well as my airbrush and paints and whatever I thought I might need to try to finish the painting etc... So....last night I got the passenger vents in the dashboard painted in black as well as the instrument panel in titanium silver...will try to get a daylight pic of just the dash when I get home tonight.. I had previously painted the grille in semi gloss black and have taped off the center to start laying down the black backer then the chrome on the surrounding area, will get the front bumper done at the same time...will really try to get this done tonight.. Also before I start to prime the body in white, I will have to paint the brake master cylinder/booster in the black backer as well, as I want to 'chrome' the master cylinder. So will need to tape off this area in the engine bay as well...will also do the blower box / ac thingy on the other side of the firewall as well... I did some more wet sanding on the roof and the sides of the body, took it down 2000 grit, so hopefully the white coat of primer won't need much work... Anywho....some pics....

Got some more done on the instrument panel...the grey area is still primer, got some titanium silver paint for it, just didn't have the time to mask it off.....in retrospect, I should have painted the silver before masking off to paint the black...doh...:facepalm: The vents on the passenger side of the dashboard needs to be black as well...not sure how much time I will have this weekend to do those ... I also started to paint the grille but didn't take any pics....the center is going in semi gloss black and the outer part will be chrome... Anywho....some pics.....

lol...yep...getting there.....and about time too.....lol!

Hey thanks Chris! For the kind words and sentiment! The Holden (HX Kingswood SL for me ) is the one car that has left an ache and an itch in me since I had to part with it years ago...I am really glad that I can do it justice.

hey thanks cobraman! Never used enamel before but I have read that it can be used over lacquer...the longer dry time is what I'm afraid of... lol ! Gonna be itching to mount it etc after its painted...so will pick up the lacquer...!

Hey guys...guess who crawled out from under his rock....:facepalm: Can't believe that it's been three months since my last confess.....ermmm I mean post...:zombie: :puke: Things have been a bit hectic but I have managed to make a bit of progress...up until last week it's been the odd 30 mins to an hour here and there....hoping to have a lot more time now.... So .... Here we go.... I got the body mounted, made some tabs that slot into the front of the chassis and got some magnets dialed in at the back under the tray that locks it in...seems to work pretty good...haven't taken pics of it however, if anyone is interested I can post up a couple so you see what I mean... Finally found the color that I want... You remember these...too dark.... Picked these up....too light and just wasn't doing it for me... Then I found this....wooot!! Saweeet....!! And like a doofus, I bought the wrong clear coat...bought enamel when I need lacquer...:banghead:: AND now I gotta re-prime in white to really show up this color....:banghead::banghead: Here's the three of them together..... Made some progress on the dashboard and interior pieces...still need to paint the instrument panel Also did a bunch of work on the roof again...finally got it to where it's acceptable...any issues that crop up now is gonna remain....:huh: Got the hood and the nose panel primed and wet sanded nice and smooth...heh...it's even got a bit of a gloss on it... Broke out the seats again for some comparison pics.....:drool:

Hey thanks guys! Here's another update... I did manage to get the interior masked off and the roof primed last night.....however, it's gonna need more filler work..there are some areas that spot putty will fix, but some major areas that need work or it will show up with paint.... Anywho some progress pics....

I also managed to get the headlights sorted...kinda ! Lol...actually I think they look pretty good...ha! Blazer headlights FTW!

I also managed to get the steering sorted...seems to work okay..hopefully it will clear the engine and pulleys okay...will know for sure when I get the engine back... Got the battery / electronics bay sorted...I may have to trim the lower back portion a bit so that its angled down. I didn't take any pics of it, but thought it looked too 'boxy' .....

Hey guys... After 4 long weeks, the polyester putty finally arrived couple nights ago... so....an update! Getting there with the roof...got the side moldings done and installed the drip rails...tidied it up some...also got the tailgate frame sorted and also installed the drip rail there...gonna shoot some primer on the roof tonight, if I can get it done early enough, I might be able to do some wet sanding to find the high and low spots. I'm hoping it will require spot putty only and not more filler...ha! But if it does, well another couple of days...gonna have to figure out how I'm masking off the rear interior before priming as well... Anywho....some pics..

Hey thanks Shambles! Actually this is what I have planned for it! I initially made the bracing out of styrene, but was worried about gluing it to the underside of the hood, as the styrene tends to show the glue tracks through the top pieces. So I made a mold of it and cast it in silicone rubber.....lol

Hey guys, got the roof attached....working on getting the side moldings installed....wasn't gonna post till it was completed.... BUT the pulley kit came in tonight....!! I assembled it and just had to share it! ...looks pretty sweet! The pulleys do spin, but on bushings...:(. Don't think it was designed for bearings, which would have been awesome... Got lotsa room for a fan as well! Anywho.....some pics....Watcha think?

thanks guys! Will try to have another update soon!

Thanks Jim ! More to come soon.....!

Hey guys...another small update.... Another step closer...:nice: once it's dried properly I will attach the roof and move on to the next step... Watcha think?

Hey thanks Zoom!