My 1974 Laguna has some plastic trim that surrounds the small windows just behind the door window. Originally this plastic was painted with something that made it look like chromed metal.

This trim has lost that coating and I'd like to restore the chrome look. I bought some "chrome" color paint at Home Depot; however, it came out looking kind of half way between dull silver and bright chrome.

Does anyone know where I can get paint that will restore this plastic to have the shine of chrome?
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Larry
Gold Member #245
Seattle WA

[This message has been edited by larrym (edited 02-15-2001).]

How about some Stainless Steel tape carefully wrapped around the piece? There's no paint that will look like metal.

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Triple Black 69 SS 396

Jimmy P,

Thanks for your response!

Yes, it doesn't necessarily have to be paint. I'm open to any fix that will restore the chrome look. Seems to me a lot of cars have plastic that is somehow coated to look like chrome. Just seems like there must be a way.

Where I can I get the stainless steel tape?

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Larry
Gold Member #245
Seattle WA

There are actually plastic chromers, or should I say, places that do chrome plating on plastic. I have a card I got from a guy at Chevellabration a couple of years ago and I've heard there is a place in Texas that does it as well. If you would like I will dig thru my papers to find the card for you or you might just go thru the phone book to find places that work with plastic that might do it locally. Let me know.

I picked up some metallizer paints from a company in England: http://www.modelsinmotion.co.uk/alclad2.asp It requires a flawless finish and then a basecoat of gloss black. The final finish is absolutely unbelievable. I showed it to a friend of mine and he could not believe that it wasn't real chrome. I then used some metallizer sealer (Model Master) and it killed some of the Chrome look but it still looked better than some polished aluminum finishes I've seen! A small airbrush is a must with this stuff. I did all my bezels for a polished aluminum look to match my headliner trim and am still getting comments from some guys asking where I bought them saying they prefer that look than the original chrome. Not bad for $10.00!!!

Hey Bad, thanks for the link above. A number of we "300 Deluxe" owners in here have been searching for something to refinish the unique "plated plastic" strips on our door panels. I may send them an email with the particulars and see what they say.

Did the plastic really look "chrome-like" before you applied that metallizer sealer?

Unfortunately the moldings I speak of are "molded" in the door panels and not clipped on like most others, thus makes the process a little more difficult.

Perhaps this will lead to a solution, thanks.



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ACES #4241, TC #947
69 SS Sedan (http://www.angelfire.com/rock/69ss)

Man those are some wierd lookin phone numbers for that company. Where in the he!! are they? Jeff, I'd be interested in the plastic chroming place in Texas. I'd like to get my dash done. Larry, for the Stainless tape, check out some very large auto parts stores or a body supply shop. Some places have aluminum tape as well. A big hardware store might carry it. Some people have been known to actually patch holes in bodies with the SS tape. I think I remember seeing the original BONDO company selling a patch kit with the aluminum tape and BONDO in it! A long time ago.
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Triple Black 69 SS 396

[This message has been edited by Jimmy P (edited 02-15-2001).]

Don, the plastic really did look like chrome. In fact I couldn't tell the difference. I sprayed the sealer to give the finish more durability. I am not sure how durable it is on its own though (have since used up all the paint so can't test). Since it's laquer based, drying time should be at least 48 hrs. (dry to touch in 2 mins.). While this is not an ideal solution to vacuum metalizing, it certainly is cheaper ($20 Cdn for 2 bottles). Purists probably wouldn't go this route but still would never be able to tell the difference with the unsealed finish. Seriously, it's that good! For the price, it certainly is worth a shot. Just use Easy Off oven cleaner to remove the old stuff and make sure the plastic finish is as smooth as possible prior to spraying. This stuff goes on thin and shows every detail. If you like, I'll try and take a few pics of some bezels I sprayed for a guy.

Thanks Bad, if you could get some pics that would be great.

Already emailed some of the 300 Deluxe owners in here to highlight this thread.

What's your email address Bad? If you want to keep it confidential just email me from my profile information.

Thanks.



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ACES #4241, TC #947
69 SS Sedan (http://www.angelfire.com/rock/69ss)

Really appreciate all the replys. Appears there is some interest beyond just mine in this subject.

Bad67,
Your suggestion seems to have the most potential for me. Where does one get an air brush that will meet this need? Do you have a ballpark figure on what that item will cost me? Also, based upon what you've said, I assume I'm faced with somehow removing my "Home Depot Spray on Special" before I could begin to use the process you suggest.

Comments are appreciated!

Thanks,

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Larry
Gold Member #245
Seattle WA

This idea won't be totally chrome - but if you want to make the chrome paint that you already put on (because it is too much work to remove etc) spray several coats of clear over the chrome paint...it won't make it any more chrome, but it will give it an added 'depth' of shine....let us know what you choose to do - I too am interested to know if the england paint, or whatever it is, works. Perhaps someone who is an expert scale model builder might have suggestions??

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Ron Cook
'69 SS 300 Deluxe HT
(Bow Tied's 2¢ worth.)

Some time in the past someone here posted about this chrome foil stuff that they used to recondition their dash. Its for modelers, and its from Model Master. Its ultra thin (like gold leaf), and is backed with an adhesive. You apply it and smooth out the wrinkles. This might be just the ticket for you 300 owners on the door panel strips, where flexibility is needed. Its pretty reflective, as the photo shows.
http://www.geocities.com/rseitzx/chromefoil.jpg

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Rainer Seitz
Vancouver, WA
Team Chevelle Gold #50
ACES #3784

'68 SS396
'70 LS3 400 Malibu
'70 Malibu convertible 350/300hp
and the latest - '70 Malibu 454!

See them all at the all-new Rainer's Hot Rod Shop! (http://rseitz.homestead.com/main.html)
rseitz@chevelles.com

The gold leaf that Rainer mentioned can be bought in "chrome" as well. In fact, Bare-Metal Foil has just released a new product that is called Ultra-Brite Chrome http://www.bare-metal.com/ It works really well and can "stretch" into crevices, etc.

Larry, if you can remove the part that you painted, just spray it with Easy OFF oven cleaner (as long as it is not aluminum!) and it should remove most or all of the old stuff. Just clean with soap and water before priming. You can get a good airbrush for around a $100 from most any hobby store.

Both of these products are made for plastic modelling so are not really intended for hard abuse. I prefer the metallizer paints because they can be buffed as well but they MUST be sprayed on using an airbrush. There are other "buffable" metallizers on the market (i.e. Testors and SNJ)and all these products are available at most hobby stores. Trouble is they should really be sealed to prevent wear as the finishes are generally very thin. The sealers often then make the finish dull. The Alclad2 stuff is the best I've seen so far (as far as paint goes). Hope this helps...

[This message has been edited by Bad67SS (edited 02-16-2001).]

Thanks to everyone!

It is so great and valuable to have free access to everyone else's experience!!

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Larry
Gold Member #245
Seattle WA

Bad67SS -

Just to clarify, the stuff in my photo is the chrome variety (i.e, silver appearance). The glare from the light above does make it look gold, though.

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Rainer Seitz
Vancouver, WA
Team Chevelle Gold #50
ACES #3784

'68 SS396
'70 LS3 400 Malibu
'70 Malibu convertible 350/300hp
and the latest - '70 Malibu 454!

See them all at the all-new Rainer's Hot Rod Shop! (http://rseitz.homestead.com/main.html)
rseitz@chevelles.com

[This message has been edited by Rainer (edited 02-16-2001).]