Another "chrome" coating comparison test: fingernail powder wins bigtime

[Ace-Garageguy]

There are probably dozens, if not hundreds of "chrome" treatments for plastic on YT.

The most worthwhile are by people who have no affiliation with the products, and who actually make stuff.

 

[Sandboarder]

33 minutes ago, Ace-Garageguy said:

There are probably dozens, if not hundreds of "chrome" treatments for plastic on YT.

You are right about that. Have you seen this one? The guy actually makes a model kit and even dares to clear coat the chrome. 
 

 

[Rick L]

That is quite impressive. Especially the consideration of clearance for paint in a snap together, working model.

Edited April 29, 2022 by Rick L
Sentence correction

[Mr. Metallic]

That stuff for nails is interesting. I'm making an assumption that the UV cured resin should be similarly as thick as the lacquer undercoat on our kit supplied chrome parts. So there will be some minor loss of fidelity in the part. From the video it looks like some parts are quite reflective, but not an overall mirror finish. I wonder how much of that is the finish of the part itself?

That video featuring the MOMO chrome paint is interesting. But I'm not sure what benefits it offers over Alclad II.

Really thinking about pulling the trigger on the Alsa Chrome, but it's an expensive pill to swollow

[Ace-Garageguy]

22 minutes ago, Mr. Metallic said:

That stuff for nails is interesting. I'm making an assumption that the UV cured resin should be similarly as thick as the lacquer undercoat on our kit supplied chrome parts. So there will be some minor loss of fidelity in the part...

Might be just the thing (depending on how well it self-levels) for 3D-printed parts with unwanted surface texture or lines, or other parts that are very difficult to sand smooth.

[Mr. Metallic]

1 minute ago, Ace-Garageguy said:

Might be just the thing (depending on how well it self-levels) for 3D-printed parts with unwanted surface texture or lines, or other parts that are very difficult to sand smooth.

Way to see the silver lining. 😊

My comment wasn't to say it was necessarily a detriment to the product, just that the result would be a similar loss of fidelity like we already experience with kit supplied chrome. Which is sometimes no noticeable loss at all as long as the undercoat isn't applied to thick.

[Ace-Garageguy]

2 hours ago, Sandboarder said:

You are right about that. Have you seen this one? The guy actually makes a model kit and even dares to clear coat the chrome. 
 

That stuff looks great, and apparently it's plenty durable for handling during assembly if gloves are worn.

Assembling "chromed" parts on a car model shouldn't take anywhere near as much pressure as snapping the parts together in the video.

Thanks       

[sbk]

I think the hood ornament results could look better with more surface prep. & a wetter black base coat. I could see orange peel on most of it. Still, a very interesting comparison, thanks, for sharing.