Chrome on plastic

Modeling Subjects Aircraft
1

How does one remove the chrome on plastic? How do they apply it in the first place? I want to remove the metallic finish on the kit.

2

oven cleaner

3

I haven’t tried the oven cleaner. What I’ve used is bleach. I just put some in a plastic container and let the chrome-plated parts soak for a bit. If you try this approach, remember to wash the parts with soap because even the slightest bit of oily residue from manufacturing can keep the bleach from working.

4

Will it not eat the plastic after removing the chrome?

5

Are we talking laundry bleach here? I think this is easier

6

Try Fantastic spray cleaner. Works great just let it soak over night then wash with soap and water. Its not a messy as over cleaner.

Thad

7

I use SuperClean, which is an automotive de-greaser. It has some advantages over oven cleaner:

  1. Little or no fumes, though you should still use it in a ventilated area

  2. Not as caustic to the skin

  3. You can re-use a batch of it over and over

I first saw SC’s effect demonstrated in a thread over at Agape Models (www.agapemodels.com), where it was used to strip the chrome from the chromed version of Tamiya’s P-51D. I used it then to remove the chrome from the shiny frets in the Monogram Red Baron hot rod kit. It removed the chrome in about 2 minutes. And since it’s a de-greaser, it left the bare surface of the styrene.

I have since switched from oven cleaner for removing paint from plastic and from my metal and resin figures, to SuperClean. I also use it to clean my airbrush. I just use wide-mouthed glass jars of various sizes to hold a batch of it, and soak the parts.

Hope that helps!

8

[2cnts] I’ve used laundry bleach any time I removed chrome and found that it did not hurt the plastic in any way. Taking the chrome off actually had a good effect by bringing out some of the minute details that were covered up by the chrome. I just let it soak overnight (sometimes a little longer is necessary) and wash with soap and water and an old toothbrush.

Jim [cptn]

9

You are right fox. The chrome is rather thick.

10

Yep. Even generic will do, and it doesn’t hurt the plastic.

11

I’ve experimented with several ways of removing chrome. Most everything that’s mentioned here and they all work but you’ll find it’s like stripping paint, every once in a while you’ll find some chrome that just doesn’t want to come off and you may have to try something else. There’s also a clear lacquer coat under most chrome and it’s usually harder to get off than the chrome itself.

I keep a little tub of Wesleys Bleche White and one of brake fluid. The Wesleys will fizz away the chrome fairly quick and then I’ll rinse the parts, shake off the water and drop them in the brake fluid till the clear, usually yellow by then, comes off.

Tony

12

cheapest crappiest walmart ownbrand household bleach. works even on old protar kits without damaging the plastic

13

409 cleaner worked for me. Was actually fun to watch the chrome come off the plastic.

14

Thanks for the info guys. I will try all of them.

15

Thanks for the information! I have that Chrome Tamiya P-51 in the stash which I’m afraid to build due to the chrome. I hear the seams won’t even bond due to the chrome plating. What was Tamiya thinking? I don’t think they do this anymore…

16

You have to scrape the chrome off to be able to cement it with styrene cement and also the chrome hides a lot of detail. The oven cleaner works, I am now able to see more details on the instrument panel.

17

That’s what made me strip the chrome from the Red Baron frets. I couldn’t get over the seams on pieces like the fuel tank, and the sprue gate scars, like the ones on the helmet. To correct them was likely going to damage the chrome, so I decided to strip the chrome, assemble, putty and sand as necessary, and then paint with a gloss chrome (I used Krylon). And so, I took what was supposed to be an out-of-box kit slam and succumbed to AMS [:D]