Jump to content
Model Cars Magazine Forum

Recommended Posts

Posted

I would like to take a try at replicating chrome. In you guys opinion, what's the better product in aerosol? I guess it's narrowed down to DupliColor, Spaz Stix, Krylon makes one, and then there is the spray alclad.......I want something durable........

Thanks for taking the time to respond!

Posted

For some time I've been buying every can of "Chrome" or various types of silver I've come across. Haven't tried Alclad or Spaz Stix. Couple weeks ago I sprayed them all on spoons. Gotta take some pics and write them up sometime soon, but NONE of them gave a chrome-like finish, though some of them would be usable for flat aluminum and other such things. Specifically, neither Duplicolor nor Krylon did a good job IMHO.

None of them looked any better than Testor Silver cut with lacquer thinner and airbrushed, which I sometimes use.

Posted

Thanks for the reply, Snake! Did you try them over a black base? I was reading up on the Krylon one and one person said it needs a silver as a base. I believe they are a modeler, said they were building an Enterprise..........

Posted

Hands down, Spaz Stix. You be the judge...

All the chrome on this model (But I didn't sand the windshield frame smooth enough, that's on me, not Spaz Stix)...

The wheels on this one...

Grille shell on this one...

Grille shell, wheels, and headlights...

 

 

 

Posted

Where do you order your Spaz Stix from, Harry? and Do you put it on in mist coats, or wet coats? I have a lowrider pickup planned, and it involves a chrome chassis.......

It looks beautiful, by the way!

Posted

I buy it online. Do a google search and find the best price.

The secret is, like Alclad, you apply it in a thin mist coat. If you spray it on too thick, the "chrome" effect is lost and it just looks like silver paint.

Posted

Thanks for the reply, Snake! Did you try them over a black base? I was reading up on the Krylon one and one person said it needs a silver as a base. I believe they are a modeler, said they were building an Enterprise..........

I sprayed each silver on a bare spoon, and then on one with one good coat of smooth Walmart primer. Some of the silvers crazed the bare plastic badly. I believe all of them looked better over the primer.

Here's one I can save you some time/money with: Krylon makes one called "Looking Glass" that's supposed to turn any glass into a mirror, or something very close to it. That must be sprayed on the backside of the glass. On a spoon, it was just a medium gray with a little bit of a metallic sheen to it. Polishing didn't help. Maybe I'll come up with something in Model Car World that needs that particular color. In Model Airplane World, it will be absolutely perfect for the 5" HVAR rockets carried under the wings of WWII and Korean War USAF and USN/Marine fighters and figher-bombers....

Posted

Thanks for the reply, Snake! Did you try them over a black base?

Just like Alcad, to get the maximum chrome effect you need a gloss black base under Spaz Stix. 

Posted

Thanks, Harry......... I thought the black base was the trick, even found that spaz stix makes a base for use with it's product. Some of my family is going to the next town and hopefully stopping by a hobby shop for me this weekend, maybe they'll have what I need......

Posted

Spax Stix does make their own black base, but really any gloss black will work. I used Testors gloss black enamel. Of course, if you want to be absolutely sure to get the best results, I guess I'd go with the Spaz Stix black base. After all, they were designed to work together.

Posted

Just like Alcad, to get the maximum chrome effect you need a gloss black base under Spaz Stix.

Harry, you may have answered this before but do you spray the Spaz Stix out of the can or decant and A/B? What primer  and gloss black brands do you use? Do you shoot the primer and gloss black out of the can or decant and A/B? TIA!

Posted

Tom, I like to keep it simple. No primer. I sand the part as smooth as I can get it, then gloss black Testors enamel out of the can (I suppose you could use Tamiya gloss black, or any brand, really), polish out any obvious specks of dust or crud, then Spaz Stix out of the can. 

I suppose you could decant and AB everything, but takes away the whole reason why I like Spaz Stix... it looks so good right out of the can!

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...