I have Heller’s Mercedes 500K roadster kit and numerous parts are chromed that shouldn’t be. I’m OK with removing the chrome before painting but am wondering if it’s necessary. Can it be primed and then painted or should the chrome be removed?
I’d just strip it. Can’t imagine paint would stick to it very well…
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I second cbaltrin’s advice and strip the chrome, before assembling, really. At the very least, scrape the chrome away from attachment points, for better glue adhesion. I just remove it before assembly because I find it easier that way, than to work around the chrome. I remove the chrome, I can clean up sprue gates, seams, etc, then prime and paint.
I agree with Cbaltrin and Baron. Remove the chrome prior to painting. Either scrape it off or try soaking the parts in Purple Power.
I have used auto primer with good results. Also, if I want a chromed part to look like Aluminum instead of chrome I spray it with Dullcoat.
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Thanks for the replies. I’ve decided to strip the chrome. Some of the chromed parts are very large such as the doors. Both the outside piece as well as the interior part of the doors are chromed, something I’ve never seen before.
Clorox works great too… just let it soak a bit.
I use SuperClean. It dissolves the thin chrome layer in about 2 minutes. That was how I first learned about the product. I saw a build online of the old Tamiya chromed P-51D kit, and the modeler used SuperClean to strip it. I was building the old Monogram Red Baron Hot Rod, and I wanted to remove the chrome. Worked like a charm!
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I’m very glad I found this thread! I’ve just run into the same problem with the same model. I’ll strip completely (although I’m not sure yet which of the suggested stripping agents I’ll use) and take it from there.
This is what I use, I use it for other things as well but the two bottles has lasted a very long time.
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Note that chrome plating is also a coating, so it’ll make a piece look thicker and soften the details a lot. So if you’re going to paint over it, even if replacing chrome plating with chrome or metallic paint, stripping the plating helps make the part look more to scale and reveals more details.
My go-to has always been Sp1c-N-Span cleaner (Replace the ‘1’ with a lower case ‘I’ if you aren’t familiar with the product). It does appear to have a shelf life, though, so probably should be replaced every couple of years. I’ll pour some out into a container, clean the parts and return the liquid to the container, so it lasts as long as it’s shelf life.