Chrome Plated Plastic

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gerahead

gerahead

Glutton for Punishment
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Has anyone had any success refinishing the plastic trim that was originally chrome plated to make it look presentable? I am thinking specifically about the instrument panel inserts? Thanks!

Jim
 
I believe the factory did the chrome plating using vacuum metallization, and those machines are tens of thousands of dollars. I've been looking into it myself, and there are a few techniques people use, like painting on conductive paint, then nickel plating by using a piece of nickel as your anode.

There's also Caswell Plating, which sells plating kits. I've heard great reviews from friends who've used their products.

caswellplating.com

Lots of people use the silver or chrome paint pens, but you definitely get a "silver" look and nowhere near chrome. I don't like how it looks.

I'm sorry I can't tell you my actual experiences, it's something I've been wanting to try. Hopefully someone here can chime in.
 
vacuume-ornametal check them out. They did a nice job on my rally bezel
 
There are several vacuum plating services that restore dash bezels and other plastic parts. GCAR is one that I have used. They do a very nice job but it is expensive with a long lead time. It's not really something you would do at home..
 
I've used Gcar too. Nice job, expensive, and took about 9 months. For a driver or something that doesn't need show quality, I've painted a few with good success. I used Xenolite (sp?) chrome rattle can paint. It gives more of a satin finish than mirror chrome, but, it looks good and better than that ugly finish it used to have.
 
If you have an airbrush spray molotov chrome refill paint from germany.....trust me..it works...cheap
 
Well, @gerahead, it depends on what your goal is. When I restored my 69 Barracuda the first time, I could not afford to have the dash professionally plated, so I sprayed it with silver Krylon followed by Krylon clear where the chrome was supposed to be, and Krylon satin black where it was supposed to be black. It looked pretty good. I won several awards with the dash like that. When I restored it the second time, I sent the dash off for a professional restoration. I have had the car going on 40 years. When I restored it the first time, I painted it with lacquer (base/clear). It looked great, but after 20 years of Kansas weather, the paint was tired. So I blew it apart and did it again. That was when I had the dash done. I thought about trying one of those chrome kits, but I decided against it.
 
The goal is to have a very nice driver. I know about the vendors who will replate the pieces so they look new. I also know that their work, while excellent, is also very expensive. I was looking for something that came out better than silver paint. The Alclad and Molotow products suggested by others seem to be the kind of solution that will work. I guess I will find out! Thanks!

Jim
 
vacu-ornametal does a nice job and relatively quick turn around.
On the more detailed parts like the instrument panel, if you want everything just so, you'll have to do a little work before sending it to them and/or when you get it back.
See my posts here
Rally dash redo
And do a search for other people's experience. you find its generally positve.
 
You can also check out Alsa chrome in a can.. they have some videos on YouTube that you can watch.. never tried it but it looks pretty good.. Rich
 
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