Chrome spray paint

Instead of rechroming part of thier frame has anyone ever used a chrome spray paint, I've never used these paints and just wondered what it looks like?

you can get stuff they use for car wheel rims, quite chromey looking.........

Not quite chrome but close.

http://prollyisnotprobably.com/2010/05/mats_purple_serotta_with_dura.php

Not quite chrome but close.

http://prollyisnotprobably.com/2010/05/mats_purple_serotta_with_dura.php

What was used here?

I haven't ever used it, but my understanding (back when all things chrome took off) from mates who were into moding cars was that it is hard to do well. You'll need a black base layer to help give the shine it's reflection, and above all it needs to be done on a very even surface.

I think doing it effectively on a bike would be tough. Have a search on the internet, especially on car modification forums.

EDIT: here's some tips http://www.ehow.com/way_5374477_chrome-paint-tips.html

I haven't ever used it, but my understanding (back when all things chrome took off) from mates who were into moding cars was that it is hard to do well. You'll need a black base layer to help give the shine it's reflection, and above all it needs to be done on a very even surface.

I think doing it effectively on a bike would be tough. Have a search on the internet, especially on car modification forums.

EDIT: here's some tips http://www.ehow.com/way_5374477_chrome-paint-tips.html

huge +1
tried it a few times (on audi wing mirrors lol), I was told you need a satin black paint underneath, in some area's it worked great, but mostly, it was aweful.

Kind of reminded me of cheaply galvanized 5bar gates (brickman = farmer in a previous life) where all the flakes of coated zinc are shiny/dull depending which angle they are viewed from.

^ yup. The cheap rattle-can stuff doesn't look fantastic and it's very easily damaged. Also lacquer makes it cloud up.

I used to be a spraypainter and I did one job with really good quality chrome-effect paint - it was like water and needed a dozen incredibly thin coats over a satin black base. It did look good, not quite like chrome, but more like polished aluminium; it was still sort of 'white', whereas chrome is blue-ish. But because of the amount of labour and the high price of the paint itself, it would probably be cheaper to get your frame chromed. And it'd be much tougher, too.

Ah my frame was chrome, but has now been stripped (by the previous owner) but it's a pinarello prestige made of incredibly light tubing that i'm scared would be damaged by chroming it

Infact it's columbus KL tubing if that's any help?

Sam the guy who runs Espresso Wheels has a contact with a powder coaters in/around london that do a colour as close to chrome you can get, apparently theyre the only people with a UK license to use it too.

and i've just researched and found out that the tubing on the chainstay I want to chrome is 0.7mm thick!

Sam the guy who runs Espresso Wheels has a contact with a powder coaters in/around london that do a colour as close to chrome you can get, apparently theyre the only people with a UK license to use it too.

Do you have a contact for him apart from the info@ one on the expresso wheels website?

chainstay 0.7mm thick, and its steel? I thought a downtube/top tube might be that thick, head/seat like 1mm and stays more like 1.5-2.0mm?

Can't imagine just getting the stays +forks chromed being all THAT expensive TBH, surely £50 sort of mark?

chroming anything is expencive. Jazzy - the email on the site would be best.

chainstay 0.7mm thick, and its steel? I thought a downtube/top tube might be that thick, head/seat like 1mm and stays more like 1.5-2.0mm?

Can't imagine just getting the stays +forks chromed being all THAT expensive TBH, surely £50 sort of mark?

Here are the details of SL tubing its very light the frame around 1700grams

impressive stuff! I had no idea the tubes could be that thin gauge. makes me think twice about clamping top tube in bike stand, or even squeezing it too hard.

This guy over at retrobike has his Mountain Cycle spectachromed. It's a highly specialized process and I imagine it's quite expensive but it's the nearest thing to actual chrome, rattlecan chrome doesn't exist.

Chrome in a can is just a bit pants. I've never really seen the difference between that and ordinary silver paint.

...
Can't imagine just getting the stays +forks chromed being all THAT expensive TBH, surely £50 sort of mark?

A chromers/jewellers I called up in hatton garden said ~£40 pair of handle bars depending on the condition. Can't remember what they said for forks. But I think that gives an idea.

My understanding is that the quality of the finish is dictated by the quality of the prep. Ie uber smooth metal, polished to a mirror finish = no extra work... vice versa.

...My understanding is that the quality of the finish is dictated by the quality of the prep. Ie uber smooth metal, polished to a mirror finish ...

http://www.cyclart.com/questions.html#chrome1

Well if anyone has chrome plated tubing that is 0.7mm thick without and bad side effects i'd like to know!

I need to treat some large areas of flaking chrome on the chain stay on my new Concorde frame. Maybe two or three square inches.

I know I could just cover this with primer, but I'm wondering what is the best compromise if I don't get it professionally re-chromed.

The steel is Columbus Nivachrom. I don't know if it polishes up well yet.

I'm thinking my options are either to polish the bare steel and apply clear laquer, or try using silver paint.
Does anyone have any opinions?

Cheers,

Roddy

For a cheap clean up and removal of surface rust, try rubbing with a piece of scrunched up kitchen foil wetted with cola.

Primer is porous and soaks up water - it'll only make the rust and flaking worse. If you use primer, you have to topcoat it.

To clean up the chrome, I'd use fine brass wool and autosol. Then to protect any areas of bare metal (i.e. where the chrome has flaked off) you could use a lacquer (POR-15 'Glisten' if you're feeling flush, clear nail varnish if you're doing it on the cheap). Clearcoat/lacquer from a rattlecan will flake off if applied over chrome or bare metal; don't use it. You could also apply a thin coat of linseed oil (there's a reason why I bang on about this stuff... it really does provide an excellent anti-rust coating)

Thanks, guys.

It's slightly odd; almost as if the chrome plate has had a reaction, or if it just doesn't like bonding to Nivachrom. It's literally peeling off in sections about 1 square centimetre at a time.