Heat Drying Chrome Paints?

[oldcarfan]

I've heard Revell and some other chrome finishes take a long time to dry and can be delicate to touch. Has anyone tried a dehydrator to speed the paint drying? I need to rechrome some parts but I'm pretty bad about handling parts and would like something a little less easily damaged.

[hedotwo]

I’ve both let them dry on their own (for weeks or months) and in my Nesco dehydrator and I haven’t really seen any difference.  I do know that making sure to do pre-fitting parts before chroming with spray chromes is really important.  That and making sure your fingers are clean or wear tight fitting gloves.  With the many pieces I’ve chromed with the  Revell spray (and Molotow) I really haven’t had any issues as long as I can minimize handling during assembly.  Once they’re done and in the display case I’m good.

 

Edited October 20, 2024 by hedotwo

[Mike 1017]

14 hours ago, oldcarfan said:

I've heard Revell and some other chrome finishes take a long time to dry and can be delicate to touch. Has anyone tried a dehydrator to speed the paint drying? I need to rechrome some parts but I'm pretty bad about handling parts and would like something a little less easily damaged.

I still put pieces that are painted with Molotow into my dehydrator, and it definitely hardens it up.

[Maindrian Pace]

Precisely. Any of these chrome paints, no matter the brand, is going to be fragile and sensitive to skin oils, so clean hands and minimal touching are the key.

[Can-Con]

OK, ample drying time and a coat of Future or Spaz Stix spray and you can handle them all you want.

What, do you guys think I'm lying to you or something? ?

 

The rad and headlights on this thing got some pretty heavy handling when I was finishing it up including pulling the headlights off and repositioning them a couple times.

Still looks pretty good to me.

[TonyW]

I've been using a product called Green Stuff World chrome paint. I'm in the UK and it's available through Games Workshop type stores

It's really bright and just about the best chrome effect I've seen so far. I airbrush the brushable version of the paint and it goes on well if you keep a wet edge at all times.

I sit the finished model on a radiator or other warm place and leave it to harden. On its own it's fairly durable but marks eventually. The heat does help a lot.

To get around that I coat the model or parts with another product, Gauzy Shine Enhancer. It doesn't dull the finish at all.

 

How bright is the finish?

 

This bright...

 

[peteski]

Sure, that looks bright, smooth, and shiny, but it doesn't look anything like chrome finish. It looks more like polished aluminum.  That is perfect for an aircraft which is made of aluminum, but doesn't quite look correct to simulate chromed automobile parts.  Chrome has different type of reflectivity than polished aluminum.  I guess not all people recognize the difference or are bothered by it.

Edited October 22, 2024 by peteski

[Matt Bacon]

Well, given that the “chrome” finish on plastic model parts IS aluminium, I think that’s pretty effective!

best,

M.

[Bainford]

I think that result looks pretty good. Broad surfaces are a real test. A nice shine has been achieved, and may look decent on a curvy bumper that is not on a show-car. It is likely that paint will never be as good as plating, certainly nothing that has been on the market so far will do it. Even the very expensive Alsacorp stuff struggles to replicate plated chrome. Alsa doesn't look much better, but it does solve the handling issue. My finger has been hovering over the 'Buy Button' on that stuff for a couple years now, but when I investigate online results I find myself unimpressed. In online demonstrations it doesn't look much better than the results some people on this board are getting with Molotow, Greenstuff, Revell, Alclad, et al., though it is much tougher and easier to work with. I might pull the trigger yet, but would really like to see results in person. There is just too much sales hype in online demonstrations, in the manner of snake oil hustlers.