How to chrome plate or give realistic shiny finish to plastic toys and R/C parts

A. Hi Russel. The original effect was done by vacuum metallizing. Aluminum was vaporized and deposited on the toy, and then a clear protective lacquer was deposited on top. But even the smallest basic vacuum metallizing equipment is beyond the average collector's means.

I'd suggest you keep looking for the shiniest "chrome-look" paint you can find (they get better each year), and then apply clear coat on top of that to give it some depth and wear resistance. Those shiny mylar balloons are also vacuum metallized and could perhaps be cut up and glued onto your toys--but I don't really know if that would work well even on relatively flat surfaces, let alone on complex shapes. Best of luck.

A. For restoring the Chrome finish on plastic parts. I restore the chrome to plastic turn signal housings for my british motorcycles by stripping them clean, then applying a copper based conductive paint, then running them through my normal small chrome plate system, which is loosely based on on an available kit. If you search for home or hobby plating you find numerous home kits that are simple and effective.

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!! It is possible to electroplate a bright metal without it actually being chrome, and if Mr. Withers wants to do real electroplating on his toys I suppose he could nickel plate them (although many professionals think it's not a good idea). Real chrome plating, however, requires chromic acid--a toxic carcinogen. In the worst cases, multi-million dollar cleanups of contaminated aquifers have been required because of discharges from chrome plating operations in garages (ref. Odessa, Texas Chromium #1 Superfund Site -- a million dollars in legal fees before the cleanup began). I don't think amateurs and students should be fooling around with carcinogenic chromic acid / hexavalent chrome.

Please see our FAQ, "Understanding Chrome Plating".

Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey

A. Try Alsa's Mirrachrome or similar products for a mirror-like paint. We are looking at this process as a replacement to vacuum metallizing for our product since it has geometry that is difficult to obtain even coverage on in a vacuum chamber.

A. Hi, Rob. Real plating on plastic (such as used on real automotive grills for decades of exposure to the elements) involves a very expensive and complicated metallization process of many steps. But for R/C parts, you could probably metallize them with two-part silver spray or a copper-rich or silver-rich conductive paint designed for the purpose, and then use a plating kit. Many of us here, myself included, don't think plating is a great hobby though :-)

As an alternative, "chrome look" paint gets better each year.

Regards,

A. Hi Robert. You are right that it is a "chrome-like" / "chrome-look" finish. Toys would not have real chrome plating or gold plating. I think they were probably originally vacuum metallized, that's hard to do except in volume. The new generation of chrome-look paints may suit your needs.

A. Chrome is not elastic enough. I think it would be simpler to produce your own inflatable using the reflecting plastic foil that is used to make decorative balloons which is readily available. You would have to cut the existing toy by the seams and use the pieces as patterns to cut new pieces of the bright stuff. Then, take them to a shop that welds plastic to assemble them together. Finally, fill the toy with balloons large enough to hold it steady and inflate it with air, nitrogen, foam or whatever. Guillermo Marrufo-Mexico

A. Jeff Koons has been making sculptures that resemble inflatable toys for many years. He is having them cast in stainless steel and polished very bright. Maybe you can do the same?

A. I have also been looking for that professional chrome finish for r.c. car shells and I have found this product; Alclad II [on eBay or Amazon]. Here's a really good guide for the correct application of it:

Alternatively, there's a more professional but expensive option called ALSA Chrome. Very expensive but quite amazing!

I hope this is helpful.

Q. We are in the process of developing a base coat for Vacuum metallizing FRP by Silver Nitrate spray process. After the spray application of the base coat, it is kept for 30 minutes flash off, followed by heating at 90 °C for 45 Minutes.This is then sprayed with silver nitrate and heated. The observation is that immediately on removal from the oven, the metal deposit has a very good shine, but then it gradually loses its shine and turns dull on cooling. Can you please suggest a solution?

A. Sorry cousin Chidambaran, but I can't understand what you say you are doing. Are you trying to obtain a shiny layer on the FRP by vacuum metallizing (with aluminum?) or by spraying with silver nitrate? If you are spraying silver nitrate (and a reducing agent), what does vacuum metallizing have to do with your process? Are you saying it's a two-step process where you first deposit a shiny silver nitrate layer and then subsequently you intend to deposit a second shiny layer by vacuum metallizing?

Why are you baking the silver nitrate -- what is that heating supposed to accomplish? I think I would expect silver to tarnish quite rapidly if it's heated to 90 °C. But perhaps a more experienced reader can see what I am missing.

What do you do about a top coat? Thanks.

Regards,

Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
July 2014

A. Brian,
Yes, it is possible but you may need a thick primer layer in order to avoid pinholes and other defects. You would probably want to choose a hard silicone rubber. One way to do this, although it's not very inexpensive, is to activate and plate e-less and electrolytic copper as a base coat. On top of the base coat a barrier layer may be a good idea. The barrier layer could be composed of nickel. Then polish to the desired finish and then plate a top coat. Other options include evap/thin film. Additionally, if the part flexes there could be trouble so do thorough testing or mount the substrate in the final assembly such that bending does not occur.