Chrome the Modern way. Spray Chrome!

[zKars]

Hey gang, I have some great news to share. 

A new "Spray Chrome" business opened up in (near) Calgary this year, and is only one of two in Canada at the moment. There are likely others in the US. A little googling might reveal one near you.  The cost of setting up this business is a bit steep, and the expertise   and process puts it a bit out of the realm of the do-it-yourselfer. But the thing to remember here is that you can Chrome ANYTHING. Don't want a section chromed? Just mask it off.

This is our local business.   http://www.cosmic-chrome.com/  They are family owned, the father and his two sons do everything.  Bruce (dad) and Jeff (oldest son) are very motivated to grow their business and have already done some amazing work. As you will see on their site, its much more than shiny chrome as well. 

This process is not new, I think we've discussed it briefly before, but it has matured to the point of now being commercial grade. The vendor indicates that several OEM's are using it on plastic exterior chrome items such as truck grills. They have even just changed to the latest products that give even better results.

We had them do a few items to see what the quality, cost and durability are like. Here are the results.

[zKars]

We had them do five items. One complete metal gas door opener assembly, one plastic gas door opener knob, one metal 240z pillar emblem and a pair of 240 chrome tail light strips.

The parts look amazing. They did all the prep work as well. The parts are clear coated with automotive clear. They feel smooth and the finish is tough.

 

[psdenno]

Let me be the first to ask.......Cost?

Dennis

[zKars]

Yes, that was the next post. Got distracted, sorry.

They charged us $145 (CDN, about $1.50 USD, well $115 ish) for the 5 pieces.  The two tail light strips were $90 out of that. There was quite a bit of prep on those.

Clearly if you did a lot of prep and masking yourself, the costs could be reduced further. I don't impress easily, this process appears to have potential for the restorationists in all of us.

 

 

 

[Chickenman]

Thanks Jim. I'll be giving them a call to see how much to re-chrome my 280Z Tail Light Bezels. No shops in BC that will do Plastic re-chroming.

[zKars]

Chickenman, I'll see you this weekend at the car show! Bring them and I'll take them back with me and return by mail later. Low delivery fees!

[wheee!]

This is very good news!!

[Martzedcars]

Years ago this was already done in the Netherlands.. chrome plating the normal (chemical) way is very expensive..  When i look closely at those pictures...am i the only one who's seeing a lot of imperfections?  sorry..... (I think that the prep work wasn't that good..)

[gundee]

1 hour ago, Martzedcars said:

Years ago this was already done in the Netherlands.. chrome plating the normal (chemical) way is very expensive..  When i look closely at those pictures...am i the only one who's seeing a lot of imperfections?  sorry..... (I think that the prep work wasn't that good..)

 

I was going to say the same thing. I would cross that work off my list and not bother. IMO.

[zKars]

Well it's about time someone brought the issue of preparation quality. I was frankly expecting more detractors by now.

Of course there are flaws in the finish, the prep on these is not perfect. But if you get dust in your paint job at the body shop do you blame the product or the application and prep.

The parts of the items that are smooth and glass-like have excellent quality chrome reflectivity. Places where there are imperfections, divots, casting marks, and yes dust, will produce a less than perfect chrome reflective surface with a paint type finish method. I did not ask the tech for a "perfect" job and related prep. The knobs especially had less than perfect chrome to start (minor pitting) with and very minor defects show through. They were vastly improved in appearance, comparing before to after. I think the picture are showing dust that is on top of the chrome as well, so that may be misleading. I'll see if I get better pics that reflect (pun) more of what I see (or don't see) in my hand.

Judging chrome work implies the highest standard comparison to your typical perfect mirror like bumpers, very easy to pick out flaws in other techniques. There are always comprimises in alternative methods.

I still stand by the quality of the process in terms of what is possible, given correct prep. The appearance, durability and cost saving far outweigh other methods, in my opinion. 

[rcb280z]

I have seen this process before and love it. There is an Audi spray chromed here in SoCal somewhere and it looks great outside of the normal factory orange peel it has. That shows up more with this spray chrome process. It will show every imperfection in the part(s). If you want show quality make sure you have a near flawless surface. Just like doing body work, the more time spent on prep the better the finish looks.

[pcs]

I think that not enough thought has been paid to the presentation of these items. Quite a lot of the apparent imperfections are actually reflections of the surfaces they have been placed on. If they had been placed on a mat black surface , I think they would look  much better. My 2 cents.