Out of the box chrome parts

[Kickstand]

Wondering what the general consensus is regarding "out of the kit" chrome parts.  For example bumpers.  Do people leave the "kit" chrome on them, or do they strip the part down and then "re-chrome" it with one or more methods?

[Ace-Garageguy]

Depends entirely on the builder.

I strip most everything, and can't bear to see mold seams on bumpers.

[NOBLNG]

I’m not as fussy as some folks since I don’t enter any contests. I will try to save the kit chrome and touch up the attachment points with Molotow if possible. I will strip all parts that should NOT be chrome….like carburetors and other engine accessories and paint them.

[LL3 Model Worx]

Alot of it for me boils down to mold lines and the quality of the plating in the kit itself.

I find that most things that are chromed are way too thick and have flash and or mold lines that I can't tolerate. 

Sometimes though like older monogram kits, Fujimi kits etc they have less of a chrome look and more of an aluminum finish and some of that stuff us great.

But mainly I strip it all.

[Steve H]

Some kit chrome looks “toy like”. On most of my recent builds I use one or two mist coats of Tamiya smoke to take the excessive shine down a notch. If you try this, practice on some scrap sprue first, heavy coats do not work well.

[1972coronet]

I'll strip plating from parts which are plated on 1:1 vehicles if there are glaring parting lines on the as-is part (typically bumpers and/or grilles). Those gnarly parting lines/mould seams really distract from the finished product, and they de facto compromise the vehicle's natural appearance; they need to go. 

I've painted bumpers with either Krylon or Plasticoat aerosol 'chrome' (products such as Alclad et al. are too Fabergé Egg-ish for me, insofar as handling).