I am about to start my first model car in about fifty years. There is a wealth of information around about how to remove the chrome plating from the plastic; but I would like to know why does the plating need to be removed? I have Revell '68 Mustang that has three chrome plated sprues. Some of the parts I want to be chrome. So why would I want to create work for myself?
Thank you for sharing any thoughts on this subject!
Shipwreck, I know I am a minority in this, but I have never stripped chrome. I paint over them if I want a different color (I use Testors enamels), or spray them with dullcote if I want a cast metal appearance.
I have seen guys strip it and use alclad. I do think their results are outstanding, and they are able to clean up mold lines on the exterior chrome pieces.
Mississippivol hit the nail on the head. Most do it to remove mold lines, and any other minor imperfections. You can also scratchbuild grills and other parts using alclad and other paints to give them a great finish.
Jim [cptn]
Mississippivol is correct. Dull coat. I asked this question in 2014, and got a reply from Don stauffer with the same tip. It works. Welcome. Aardvark
Chrome paints keep getting better and better. The usual worst glitch is sprue attachment point. If that cleans up with only a small flaw, a small paint brush and good chrome paint can usually fix it. Only for big mold lines and other big flaws is it really necessary to redo the full chrome finish.
Further, even if you do need to redo the chrome with something like Alclad, I find I can prime with a good primer, black undercoat, and Alclad it without removing old kit chrome.
I strip the chrome to repaint the part in a color the the part should be in. Instead of chrome, it could be aluminium paint or silver or argent, or in any other color.
One of the main reasons I strip chrome before painting parts, is that the chrome build-up tends to make the engraving on a part look a bit soft. Painting over the chrome makes this worse. I keep an old stainless steel pan, spray the parts with Easy-Off oven cleaner, then wash them off under warm water with an old toothbrush. Sometimes, the clear laquer coat will remain, but I usually don’t worry about that.
Tom
Another option is a Molotow Liquid Chrome Marker, a paint marker filled with the shiniest chrome I’ve ever seen. You can scrape off mold seperation and sprue marks and then use this to touch up.
The biggest problem I have is getting rid of join-seam lines. If you leave the kit chrome on and glue a gas tank or the verticle exhausts for a truck, you are going to see the seam. It doesn’t look right. By removing the chrome gluing the part then sanding the seams you can then get it looking perfect with your chrome-metal paint of choice. It’s definately a lot of work. I use Easy-off to remove chrome.
There is a new line of metal paints called AK Extreme Metal. They look good from what I see.
The first thing i thought of is something no one else has mentioned. The reason I have always removed the chrome is to allow the glue to have a better surface to adhere to. Typical styrene cement softens the plastic and any coatings will stop this from happening.
I imagine many people know this, but wanted to share with those who don’t.
I removed the chrome from the chromed parts in the Monogram Red Baron hot rod, because I wanted to clean up the seams on those chromed parts that had to be glued together (eg, the fuel tank), and because of the rather visible sprue gate scars on other pieces (eg, the “helmet” roof).
It was a case of AMS kicking in, because it started as a nostalgia build. I couldn’t help myself. Also, around the same time, I saw an article at Agape Models about using the de-greaser Super Clean to strip the chrome from plastic. In the case of the article, it was the Tamiya chromed P-51. You ask why plating needs to be removed? I ask, why did Tamiya chrome that kit?
In any case, I used SC to strip the chrome. It came off in under two minutes of soaking. I could see it dissolving into the solution. When it was all off, I rinsed the sprues and found them literally squeaky-clean, because there was absolutely nothing between the surface of the plastic and my fingers. Ever since that experiment, by the way, I have used SC to strip paint and to clean parts prior to assembly.
Once I had stripped the chrome, I assembled the parts as usual, cleaning up seams, pour gates and other little items. To “re-chrome” those bits, I primed as usual, and used a Krylon chrome-colored paint. It worked better for effect, since the original chrome looked too bright in that scale, while the chrome paint looked more realistic.
So, it’s worth the effort, if that’s the result that you want.
Best regards,
Brad
That Molotow liquid chrome also comes in a refill liquid that can be airbrushed directly from the bottle for larger areas such as big rig tanks and stacks.
Thank to all who responded to this post. The responses were very helpful. I certainly have some notion that I have an idea of what I am doing as I face the plating dilemma! Ben
Kenjitak ;
Read my comments about this stuff .It is great ! T.B.
Pops51 ;
Well I haven’t had to use that much yet . T.B.