Chrome plating plastic

[gj67stang]

Anybody ever had any plastic parts chrome plated?

I am looking a mounting a Kussmaul Auto-Eject in my truck and would like to have it blend into my chrome bumper (They do not offer a chrome cover.). Pieces are about 3x4" and smaller.

What place would do just a couple one-off pieces? I am assuming the pieces need to be cleaned and mounted to some sort of sprue (kinda like all those model kits we glued together as kids ).

I would appreciate any advice or direction you can give!

 

[iajonesy]

Years ago I saw the process done at the Ertel toy factory. It looked like a very complicated operation. I don't know where you could get this done, but wish you luck.

Mike

 

[BCreekDave]

Look for vacuum metalizing plastic. Auto restorers use it often.

Here is one such place
http://gcartrim.com/
Never used them but soon will for some car parts


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Toolfool]

I had the door handles of my challenger plated in real metal chrome (not the plastic ****). It was almost 10 years ago and I was only able to find two companies in the whole country doing it at that time. The finished product was great. I'll look for a link.

 

[mike93lx]

I don't know if i would expect a coating to hold up to the abuse of a trailer connector

 

[bored350]

Have you considered remaking the cover in steel or other suitable metal and having that chromed or powdercoated chrome instead of working with the plasticplastic? Polished stainless is another possibility.

Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Tapatalk

 

[Ditchdigger]

We have had Ogden Chrome in Utah chrome plate plastic car trim in the past. It was very, VERY expensive

 

[jayoldschool]

Plastic model kits use old style plating (expensive).

I would think the new spray systems would be ideal for your use.

 

[DragPack69]

Call Frank at vacuum orna-metal(sp?)

Rumor has it he does excellent work on vintage mustang parts. He`s doing my 68 dash

John

 

[Retlaw 66]

Have you considered remaking the cover in steel or other suitable metal and having that chromed or powdercoated chrome instead of working with the plasticplastic? Polished stainless is another possibility.

This sounds like a better idea!
Or just make a cover that pops over it.

I work in the optical coating industry using 'vacuum coating'. It's a rather expensive process. The Orna-metal site mentioned above will give you an idea of the process and costs.
https://www.vacuumorna-metal.com/content/vacuum-metalizing

Exterior plastic parts require more durability which usually uses a tri-metal (copper-nickel-chrome) electroplating process. It's going to be much more expensive.

 

[dadsEH]

You cant chrome any old plastic. The parts need to be made from special metalic polymer that makes the chrome 'stick' otherwise it will just flake off in service.

 

[dogdog]

my fridge water dispenser tray is plastic and chromed ..... cheap thing started flaking green.... lead me to think some sort of copper spray was used on the plastic before the chrome....

 

[gorilla]

The plastic parts that you think are chrome are most likely coated with aluminum and then overcoated with a hard coating to protect them. I worked in the optical coating industry for a long time and often thought about setting up a system to do dashboards etc.

 

[astroracer]

Vacuum metalizing is exactly what gorilla says it is. It is not "chrome plating". The parts need to be prepped and sprayed with a base clear coat in order for the metalizing to adhere. They are then mounted to a rack or "sprue" as was also mentioned, and then hung in a metalizing booth. Electric current is run thru a Cathode/Anode to create an aluminum "mist" in the booth and the part is usually revolved thru the mist to evenly deposit the aluminum. A protective coating may or may not be applied as a finish coat.
The vacuum metalizing will not be very robust in a hard use application, it will scratch and wear off very quickly.
Mark

 

[toplessHO]

there are plenty of spray on chrome like finishes
Mirra chrome is one

 

[4xdog]

You cant chrome any old plastic. The parts need to be made from special metalic polymer that makes the chrome 'stick' otherwise it will just flake off in service.

I believe ABS (acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene), a common plastic use in many injection molded parts, is one of the few that can be electroplated. Things like auto and plumbing parts that are real chrome plated are almost certainly ABS.

Others, like styrene model car parts, are vacuum metallized with things like aluminum, as well-described above.

 

[toplessHO]

a little different process but this is for the naysayers that say only certain types of plastic can be coated

https://spectrachrome.com/

 

[ZRX61]

There's another process that uses some kind of silver solution. The part is coated with a primer & then the liquid (silver nitrate?) is poured over it. Leno's YouBoob channel had a video about it years ago.

 

[joe_padavano]

You cant chrome any old plastic. The parts need to be made from special metalic polymer that makes the chrome 'stick' otherwise it will just flake off in service.

I'm very sure that the "chrome" parts in a plastic model kit are NOT "special metallic polymer". The "chrome" is vacuum deposited aluminum. It goes onto any non-metallic item. The process of real metal chrome plating on plastic starts with the aluminum to provide an electically conductive surface for the electroplating process.

 

[joe_padavano]

I'll also add that to plate that trailer connector you have to completely disassemble it, including removing all the terminals.