<p>As fixer1234 wrote in the comments, anything with solvents ruins the chrome paint, so you cannot seal the spray painted object with anything that comes out of a spray can. Many (but not all) chrome spray paints also react with acrylic clear coats. The problem is well known in the Cosplay and miniature communities and among other crafters.</p>
<p>Probably the cheapest solution is to apply floor wax / floor polish on top of the completely dry chrome layer. The most recommended brands are Pledge floor wax and Future floor polish. (Sources: <a href="https://cosplay.com/archive/thread/2oqp4y/chrome-spray-paint-coating-help" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Coslay.com</a> and <a href="https://www.statueforum.com/showthread.php?t=133877" rel="nofollow noreferrer">StatueForum.com</a>) You can experiment with dipping the object (if the floor polish is liquid enough), applying it with a soft brush or air brushing it on.</p>
<p>Apart from that, Alclad made a clear coat specifically for their own chrome paint that doesn't ruin the shine, but that means you're bound to a specific product from a specific manufacturer. The coat is tested in these Youtube videos by <a href="https://youtu.be/rRSD3h0PooU" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Adam Savage</a> and <a href="https://youtu.be/T6JwSYKdK3g" rel="nofollow noreferrer">VinceVellCUSTOMS</a>.</p>
<p>Of none of those solutions appeal to you, the next best option is to try different brush-on gloss varnishes. You should avoid any products containing xylene, toluene or acetone, because those will react with the chrome paint.</p>
<p>And one last tip: For best results many crafters propose applying a glossy black primer underneath the chrome spray paint. It just helps creating an even, metallic shine.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-10-04T17:35:01.567Z
Just a note, the cosplay and miniature people loved Pledge Floor Gloss which is now discontinued and sells for like $50 a bottle or more online. I'm testing an alternative Quick Shine right now. It's a little cloudy but we'll see if it helps prevent dings and finger prints from embedding into the paint on touch. Thanks for the tips on the ingredients to watch for.
Kai Qing
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-10-04T12:28:26.180Z
2022-10-04T12:28:26.180Z
Elmy
<p>The frustration with trying to seal &quot;chrome&quot; paint and other substitutes is that they are just that: substitutes for a more intensive process which is the only way to get the resulting finish you are seeking. If you are going to mass produce them (&quot;...might have to make thousands of these...&quot;) then a more industrial solution is both sensible and in the long run cheaper. And you will get real chrome, like you want.</p>
<p>I know this doesn't satisfy the OP question but for the problem at hand creating the real thing instead of using a substitute, at least once you move out of prototyping and into real production, would probably give you the most satisfaction.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-11-08T18:02:15.827Z
At that scale, the issue isn't sending them out for plating, it's not making them on a 3D printer in the first place. Just sayin'.
fixer1234
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-11-10T20:55:48.433Z
Yeah, I would only use the 3D printer to make the initial design, cast it, then use the molds to manufacture. But as it stands, this is very small underground car club type stuff. Sure, they want all the bling, but they also understand they can have a fancy emblem badge or a full exhaust system. They tend to side with performance over looks.
Kai Qing
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-11-08T17:46:34.013Z
2022-11-08T17:46:34.013Z
rebusB
<p>The question asks about coating chrome paint, but you really need to take a step back to the chrome finish, itself.  Applying a chrome-looking finish to plastic has always been a challenge.  Before you get to trying to top coat it for protection, it's tough to just get a mirror finish.  If you are able to apply a mirror finish, then you face additional challenges of keeping it that way.  Some finishes will darken.  Some will eventually develop matte areas.  Some will wear away if they get any handling.  Some will degrade if exposed to sunlight.  The need for protection, the type of protection required, and what protective coating is compatible will depend on what you used for the finish.</p>
<p>One approach is to <strong>create the finish using something that doesn't require a protective coat</strong>.  A few possible ways to do this:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Paint that looks like polished chrome is made using a silver-colored metal dust of extremely small particle size.  If you mix some of that metal powder with a two-part epoxy top coat (designed for exterior use), you may get a polished chrome-like finish that is tough and stable enough to not require additional coating.  This approach is something you would need to research further for precise implementation details.</p>
</li>
<li><p>There is chrome vinyl wrap that is commonly used on car bodies.  It will conform to the complex curves of a car body, but I'm not sure how practical it would be to apply it to a small emblem with a lot of tiny 3D details and 90° edges on what I assume is a round shape.  Warming the film and vacuum forming it over the emblem might work.  But again, this would take some research and trial.  This video, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOdAth82Qm4" rel="nofollow noreferrer">How to vinyl wrap with chrome</a>, will give you an idea of how the wrap behaves in normal application on a car body.</p>
<p>Warming it and vacuum forming it over the emblem would provide more conformity, but it would need to be tried to see how well it works.  Small, inexpensive vacuum formers are available or can be made.  For this application, you just need a vacuum table (a box with a grid of holes that would probably work with a shop vac); the controlled heating needed to almost melt thick sheets of plastic would be too much for this kind of film.</p>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>If you start with chrome paint</strong>, Elmy's answer is pretty much the bottom line.  This video, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kB9wwCyG1dw" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Protecting Alclad Chrome - 14 Clear Coats Tested</a>, compared 14 kinds of clear coats on a specific chrome paint.  The results are probably applicable to other paints.  Acrylic floor polish did one of the best jobs and was inexpensive compared to most of the other options.  But the testing did identify a few other products that were very good or better.  One was a two part epoxy, one was a specific polyurethane top coat, and the others were clear coats designed for this purpose.  Note that the coatings were at least superficially tested for durability by trying to scratch them with a fingernail, but they weren't tested for how the materials hold up to sunlight.</p>
<p>BTW, in almost all cases, real durability requires allowing plenty of time for the paint to fully cure before coating it (on the order of a week, sometimes more), and allowing even more time for the clear coat to cure.</p>
<p>Also, in case you weren't aware of it, most experienced modellers don't spray chrome paint directly on the plastic part.  They start with a base coat of a gloss black paint that bonds with the plastic and dries to a very smooth surface.  The chrome paint is applied to that after it's cured (typically more than a day).  It doesn't take a thick covering of chrome paint over the black to produce a chrome look.</p>
<p>But the main idea I wanted to cover is <strong>something unusual that might be the best solution</strong>, that I stumbled across in this video, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ninpBuzNSxQ" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Chrome Finish on Plastic- Did I Find the Answer?</a>.  Coincidentally, the application in the video was chrome finishing a plastic hood ornament for a car.  The video covers a number of products that were tested, but the surprising one was something sold as a system for fingernail polish.</p>
<p>You apply a clear, UV-cure acrylic resin that self-levels to a very smooth surface, and you harden it.  Then you brush on a very fine colored powder (silver was one of the colors in the kit).  A thin layer of the powder bonds to the coating and looks like polished metal.</p>
<p>The acrylic coating is tough (and immune to sunlight UV).  I don't know how much handling the bonded powder would take before it wears off.  But if it needs protection, my assumption is that this finish would be much easier to protect than chrome paint, with a bigger range of options.  In the video, the author comments that the finish isn't fragile like chrome paint and thought there was no need to add a protective top coat on the hood ornament.</p>
<p>One other possibility is <strong>chrome plating the plastic</strong>.  I thought this wouldn't be practical at home, but a Russian guy has a video, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZ4wyJvnHNQ" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Few people know this secret of plastic chrome plating!</a>, of how to do it with readily available materials that don't involve serious hazards.  I'm not up on my chemistry enough to know what metal actually gets plated onto the plastic.  In his process, the final plating step uses a solution made from stainless steel, and a lead electrode.  I don't know if lead is used so it doesn't bond with all the ions in the solution, and the part gets plated with stainless steel, or the solution mainly serves as an electrolyte, and the part gets plated with lead.  But it turns silvery and that may be all that matters.  :-)</p>
<p>The author claims the process pulls chrome from the stainless steel into solution, and that's what gets plated.  In another video, he plates an aluminum part with essentially the same process, but uses a stainless steel spoon instead of lead as the electrode.  So the metal plated onto the part probably isn't lead.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-10-04T23:30:19.930Z
Awesome research! This is definitely going to lead to a solution, I feel. I have a long way to go in testing to prove it against things like outdoor exposure and fingernail tests, but anymore it has become a personal crusade. I'm ordering some 2 part epoxy, and I also believe I will try an airbrush approach using the spaz stix stuff to see if their 3 part system is promising. The black base, chrome, then sealant. Eventually one of these will be the ideal solution given the parameters and I will have to report back. I'll likely mark as accepted then but want to make sure we have data first
Kai Qing
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-10-04T23:33:34.250Z
But also, I will order some of the nail polish options and if it comes down to it, a more chemical means like adding the metal dust to the epoxy. The mirror finish isn't as important to me as the result looking metal without looking like spray paint metal, which has a definite spray paint look (like the hammered stuff or metallics in spray paint). The design is very scaly like a tiny snake so mirror finish kind of just gets noisy but silver like stainless steel looks great, which is why I waas ok with chrome spray in the first place. It's a shortcut solution, but it has cost a fortune so far
Kai Qing
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-10-05T04:48:26.067Z
Oh damn, I've seen these metallic nail powders before, but I forgot about them! They can achieve truly stunning results, as demonstrated in [this YouTube video](https://youtu.be/sXOXPq9UOAI). The one in the video did react with an acrylic top coat, but as you need UV resin to apply it, you can top coat it with UV resin without any problems.
Elmy
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-10-04T20:00:47.643Z
2022-10-04T20:36:50.923Z
2022-10-04T20:36:50.923Z
fixer1234
<p>So this problem is multi-part. I am making a custom emblem for an auto club that is supposed to replace the VW emblem on a grill. Exterior use, obviously. I am making the emblem with a SLA resin 3D printer. Pretty much no other way for us.</p>
<p>First issue is that every chrome spray paint on the planet isn't chrome at all, but even if you can manage a decently reflective surface, every sealant we have tried immediately dulls the pseudo-chrome finish to a dull grey. Clearly there is some kind of chemical reaction here.</p>
<p>The intention here is to make things like this on an ongoing basis, so ideally any solution would be one that is not intended for single use things. Like sending a custom emblem out to have it chrome plated for $100. I might have to make a thousand of these, so I'd prefer to be able to spray them and seal them myself for a reasonable per unit cost. I'm not too particular about it being mirror finished or anything, but I am particular about it peeling in the sun, or dulling to flat grey with a sealant.</p>
<p>Has anyone here had any success with chrome spray paints for exterior use? Or any sealants that work on chrome spray painted surfaces?</p>
<p>Just to clarify, I am in the USA and may need to buy any paints or sealants regularly. I'd prefer to not have to buy from overseas just because of the time restrictions and availability. Waiting a month for a restock is probably not going to work. I'm ok with brush on finishes if they are truly chrome and sealed, but I'd prefer to keep it in the un-psychotic price range. I am aware of alsacorp and their product looks stunning and exterior, but at $90 a can I am not sure I can justify that cost unless there truly are no other products that can handle this.</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-10-01T23:11:46.493Z
Are you wedded to 3D printing each emblem? There are some other processes that wouldn't require a paint finish. I'm thinking of approaches like creating an emblem and then making a mold of it.  You could then cast the emblems with a metal dust filled resin that can be polished. There is also metal-filled epoxy putty that could be pressed into the mold and then polished. A high temperature silicone mold would allow casting a low-temperature metal. Another approach: make a 3D printed die set that punches out and forms a thin sheet of aliminum (cont'd)
fixer1234
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-10-01T23:11:52.187Z
(even from beverage cans; the inside looks polished), to make a shell of the emblem. You fill the back of the shell with a cheap material that just serves to keep the shape. A thin sheet of aluminum is still way thicker than a film of paint and sealant.
fixer1234
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-10-01T23:47:02.180Z
@fixer1234 - Not totally, but I have to be able to create a master mold first and unfortunately the emblem is a very intricate design with enough machined little bits that might be hard to ensure they come through with something like a casting or pressed mold. Especially with my level of expertise. I bought the SLA printer solely for this because I didn't think I could guarantee an even pattern on these parts, plus each emblem can have the chapter ID "stamped" on it, which means they are not conducive to manufacturing methods unless I ditch that part.
Kai Qing
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-10-01T23:48:17.813Z
But additionally, I think I am just immensely bothered by the idea that absolutely every "chrome" paint out there is a joke that can't be sealed and can't be exposed to the sun. Really? In this day and age? So while there are numerous ways to achieve what I'm trying, I really just want to know if anyone knows that magic brand combination that works. Chrome spray paint. Some kind of sealant.
Kai Qing
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-10-02T00:02:04.357Z
I don't know the magic combination. But Chrome paint typically contains metal dust in a dissolved resin. When the coat dries, the resulting very uniform surface looks polished. If you then apply a coating that contains solvents that redissolve the chrome paint binder, it ruins the smooth surface so the metal dust just looks gray. I'm guessing that the key would be to use a clear coat that doesn't contain solvents. Maybe something like the clear two-part epoxy finish used on table tops.
fixer1234
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-10-02T00:37:43.737Z
@fixer1234 - That's where my acts of desperation are pointing to as well. I was going to see if I could find any sealants claiming a radically different chemical composition than the numerous ones I've been using. It might mean really deeply comparing known ingredients. I do know it can't be just the spray components. It does this with brush on as well. If I can't find one... there's a million dollar invention for some chemist out there.
Kai Qing
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-10-02T11:49:09.197Z
Taking @fixer1234's point at face value (and my own slightly twisted experience supports this) I also wonder about sealing with a suitable epoxy. That's not solvent based, though the liquid form will dissolve some things, and is a very different chemistry.
Chris H
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-10-02T11:51:51.350Z
On the other hand I wonder about some form of optical effect as well. A top coat going on slightly cloudy because of poor compatibility could also turn silver to grey
Chris H
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-10-02T11:53:24.533Z
Note that you would need epoxy specified for long term exterior use as many products will turn yellow in prolonged sunlight
Chris H
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-10-02T11:55:32.070Z
It is still worth looking into the features that can be achieved with soft tooling cast from a 3d printed master. If you do get up to large volumes, it will work out far cheaper than printing
Chris H
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-10-02T15:53:20.987Z
@ChrisH Yes, for sure, and I will have to keep that in mind for all projects. For this one, It's a small club in a few zip codes. I doubt I would need to cast anything per say. I'm trying an acrylic floor polish right now. Quick Shine, because apparently the Pledge gloss stuff people loved had to be discontinued like everything else that ever works in the world. It leaves a hazy finish, but better than any alternatives so far. I have to run it through the heat tests to know if it's doing anything at all, but it definitely helps against the scratch and finger print tests. The sun will tell
Kai Qing
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-10-02T19:52:04.360Z
Just one other thought on the possibility of casting the emblems: a silicone mold will pick up extremely fine detail (down to minute scratches on the surface). Its resolution will be better than the capabilities of the 3D print or anything you machine into it later. If the emblems get a chapter ID, you can do that with an insert. Mold in a pocket that holds a changeable insert for the ID (which can be 3D printed). Just use mold release so the insert doesn't get bonded to the casting material. And good point from @ChrisH about selecting an epoxy that won't yellow in sunlight.
fixer1234
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-10-03T16:30:13.573Z
You're saying "every chrome paint" and "every sealant" without any additional information. I find it very hard to believe that "every chrome paint" and "every sealant" are "terrible." Can you please add the information on which paint and sealant combinations you've tried?
Allison C
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-10-03T17:05:03.950Z
@AllisonC - Your statement is exactly why I posted this here. I too find it very hard to believe. To the tune of wasting several hundred dollars on every chrome paint and sealant on the shelves of Ace Hardware, Home Depot, and a local hobby shop. I find it amazing this doesn't appear to be a common issue online either. Yet this is a clear chemical reaction and totally impossible that I am doing something wrong. The acrylic option wasn't factored until now because I assumed I had to spray the sealant for an even finish and I don't have an airbrush. But Quick Shine is self leveling
Kai Qing
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-10-03T17:07:45.697Z
@fixer1234 - I have some experience with casting, but really, the SLA printers can handle incredible detail. They are not like the filament printers that could never get this level of detail. But I already did all the work. They are all built. I just can't paint them. I'm too deep now to change the process. It is just not possible that there is no way to paint and seal these things with all the technology we have nowadays. It just cannot be possible there is no solution.
Kai Qing
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-10-03T17:53:32.480Z
I understand where @AllisonC is coming from. But I suspect that the problem will be with virtually every chrome spray paint and every common one-part spray clear coat. The clear coats will contain solvents that attack the paint binder. There are ways to actually chrome-plate plastic, but none of the processes lend themselves to doing at home, and they tend to be expensive. There are commercial outfits that can chrome-plate them for you, but it will be expensive. The acrylic floor finish is water-based. That shouldn't attack the paint, but it will probably be worthless as protection. (cont'd)
fixer1234
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-10-03T17:53:43.403Z
It won't bond to the paint. I would start with 2-part clear epoxy top coat, which seems like the most likely to work. You might also explore ways to turn the epoxy, itself, into chrome "paint" rather than using it as a top coat. There might be silver coloring that can be added.
fixer1234
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-10-03T18:13:00.687Z
@fixer1234 - That's an interesting concept to see if I can turn an epoxy into a chrome like paint. Something tells me that would be quite a task as chrome or reflective paints are complex pigments. I will see if an epoxy topcoat is an option. I have the quick shine tests running to see how they stand against heat and UV. I don't have confidence a floor shine can handle this, but if they are designed to be walked on, it might be just enough to get by. We're wanting to make sure they resist being touched or nicked by pebbles. Epoxy will definitely out perform if it doesn't affect the finish
Kai Qing
<painting><paint>
Are there any chrome spray paints you can use a sealant on?
Kai Qing
# Are there any chrome spray paints you can use a sealant on?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2022-10-01)

So this problem is multi-part. I am making a custom emblem for an auto club that is supposed to replace the VW emblem on a grill. Exterior use, obviously. I am making the emblem with a SLA resin 3D printer. Pretty much no other way for us.

First issue is that every chrome spray paint on the planet isn't chrome at all, but even if you can manage a decently reflective surface, every sealant we have tried immediately dulls the pseudo-chrome finish to a dull grey. Clearly there is some kind of chemical reaction here.

The intention here is to make things like this on an ongoing basis, so ideally any solution would be one that is not intended for single use things. Like sending a custom emblem out to have it chrome plated for $100. I might have to make a thousand of these, so I'd prefer to be able to spray them and seal them myself for a reasonable per unit cost. I'm not too particular about it being mirror finished or anything, but I am particular about it peeling in the sun, or dulling to flat grey with a sealant.

Has anyone here had any success with chrome spray paints for exterior use? Or any sealants that work on chrome spray painted surfaces?

Just to clarify, I am in the USA and may need to buy any paints or sealants regularly. I'd prefer to not have to buy from overseas just because of the time restrictions and availability. Waiting a month for a restock is probably not going to work. I'm ok with brush on finishes if they are truly chrome and sealed, but I'd prefer to keep it in the un-psychotic price range. I am aware of alsacorp and their product looks stunning and exterior, but at $90 a can I am not sure I can justify that cost unless there truly are no other products that can handle this.

Thanks!

**Tags:** painting, paint

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Are you wedded to 3D printing each emblem? There are some other processes that wouldn't require a paint finish. I'm thinking of approaches like creating an emblem and then making a mold of it.  You could then cast the emblems with a metal dust filled resin that can be polished. There is also metal-filled epoxy putty that could be pressed into the mold and then polished. A high temperature silicone mold would allow casting a low-temperature metal. Another approach: make a 3D printed die set that punches out and forms a thin sheet of aliminum (cont'd)  
> **username_1**: (even from beverage cans; the inside looks polished), to make a shell of the emblem. You fill the back of the shell with a cheap material that just serves to keep the shape. A thin sheet of aluminum is still way thicker than a film of paint and sealant.  
> **username_0**: @username_1 - Not totally, but I have to be able to create a master mold first and unfortunately the emblem is a very intricate design with enough machined little bits that might be hard to ensure they come through with something like a casting or pressed mold. Especially with my level of expertise. I bought the SLA printer solely for this because I didn't think I could guarantee an even pattern on these parts, plus each emblem can have the chapter ID "stamped" on it, which means they are not conducive to manufacturing methods unless I ditch that part.  
> **username_0**: But additionally, I think I am just immensely bothered by the idea that absolutely every "chrome" paint out there is a joke that can't be sealed and can't be exposed to the sun. Really? In this day and age? So while there are numerous ways to achieve what I'm trying, I really just want to know if anyone knows that magic brand combination that works. Chrome spray paint. Some kind of sealant.  
> **username_1**: I don't know the magic combination. But Chrome paint typically contains metal dust in a dissolved resin. When the coat dries, the resulting very uniform surface looks polished. If you then apply a coating that contains solvents that redissolve the chrome paint binder, it ruins the smooth surface so the metal dust just looks gray. I'm guessing that the key would be to use a clear coat that doesn't contain solvents. Maybe something like the clear two-part epoxy finish used on table tops.  
> **username_0**: @username_1 - That's where my acts of desperation are pointing to as well. I was going to see if I could find any sealants claiming a radically different chemical composition than the numerous ones I've been using. It might mean really deeply comparing known ingredients. I do know it can't be just the spray components. It does this with brush on as well. If I can't find one... there's a million dollar invention for some chemist out there.  
> **username_2**: Taking @username_1's point at face value (and my own slightly twisted experience supports this) I also wonder about sealing with a suitable epoxy. That's not solvent based, though the liquid form will dissolve some things, and is a very different chemistry.  
> **username_2**: On the other hand I wonder about some form of optical effect as well. A top coat going on slightly cloudy because of poor compatibility could also turn silver to grey  
> **username_2**: Note that you would need epoxy specified for long term exterior use as many products will turn yellow in prolonged sunlight  
> **username_2**: It is still worth looking into the features that can be achieved with soft tooling cast from a 3d printed master. If you do get up to large volumes, it will work out far cheaper than printing  
> **username_0**: @username_2 Yes, for sure, and I will have to keep that in mind for all projects. For this one, It's a small club in a few zip codes. I doubt I would need to cast anything per say. I'm trying an acrylic floor polish right now. Quick Shine, because apparently the Pledge gloss stuff people loved had to be discontinued like everything else that ever works in the world. It leaves a hazy finish, but better than any alternatives so far. I have to run it through the heat tests to know if it's doing anything at all, but it definitely helps against the scratch and finger print tests. The sun will tell  
> **username_1**: Just one other thought on the possibility of casting the emblems: a silicone mold will pick up extremely fine detail (down to minute scratches on the surface). Its resolution will be better than the capabilities of the 3D print or anything you machine into it later. If the emblems get a chapter ID, you can do that with an insert. Mold in a pocket that holds a changeable insert for the ID (which can be 3D printed). Just use mold release so the insert doesn't get bonded to the casting material. And good point from @username_2 about selecting an epoxy that won't yellow in sunlight.  
> **username_3**: You're saying "every chrome paint" and "every sealant" without any additional information. I find it very hard to believe that "every chrome paint" and "every sealant" are "terrible." Can you please add the information on which paint and sealant combinations you've tried?  
> **username_0**: @username_3 - Your statement is exactly why I posted this here. I too find it very hard to believe. To the tune of wasting several hundred dollars on every chrome paint and sealant on the shelves of Ace Hardware, Home Depot, and a local hobby shop. I find it amazing this doesn't appear to be a common issue online either. Yet this is a clear chemical reaction and totally impossible that I am doing something wrong. The acrylic option wasn't factored until now because I assumed I had to spray the sealant for an even finish and I don't have an airbrush. But Quick Shine is self leveling  
> **username_0**: @username_1 - I have some experience with casting, but really, the SLA printers can handle incredible detail. They are not like the filament printers that could never get this level of detail. But I already did all the work. They are all built. I just can't paint them. I'm too deep now to change the process. It is just not possible that there is no way to paint and seal these things with all the technology we have nowadays. It just cannot be possible there is no solution.  
> **username_1**: I understand where @username_3 is coming from. But I suspect that the problem will be with virtually every chrome spray paint and every common one-part spray clear coat. The clear coats will contain solvents that attack the paint binder. There are ways to actually chrome-plate plastic, but none of the processes lend themselves to doing at home, and they tend to be expensive. There are commercial outfits that can chrome-plate them for you, but it will be expensive. The acrylic floor finish is water-based. That shouldn't attack the paint, but it will probably be worthless as protection. (cont'd)  
> **username_1**: It won't bond to the paint. I would start with 2-part clear epoxy top coat, which seems like the most likely to work. You might also explore ways to turn the epoxy, itself, into chrome "paint" rather than using it as a top coat. There might be silver coloring that can be added.  
> **username_0**: @username_1 - That's an interesting concept to see if I can turn an epoxy into a chrome like paint. Something tells me that would be quite a task as chrome or reflective paints are complex pigments. I will see if an epoxy topcoat is an option. I have the quick shine tests running to see how they stand against heat and UV. I don't have confidence a floor shine can handle this, but if they are designed to be walked on, it might be just enough to get by. We're wanting to make sure they resist being touched or nicked by pebbles. Epoxy will definitely out perform if it doesn't affect the finish  

---

## 3 answers

### Answer by username_4 on 2022-10-04. Score: 4

As username_1 wrote in the comments, anything with solvents ruins the chrome paint, so you cannot seal the spray painted object with anything that comes out of a spray can. Many (but not all) chrome spray paints also react with acrylic clear coats. The problem is well known in the Cosplay and miniature communities and among other crafters.

Probably the cheapest solution is to apply floor wax / floor polish on top of the completely dry chrome layer. The most recommended brands are Pledge floor wax and Future floor polish. (Sources: [Coslay.com](https://cosplay.com/archive/thread/2oqp4y/chrome-spray-paint-coating-help) and [StatueForum.com](https://www.statueforum.com/showthread.php?t=133877)) You can experiment with dipping the object (if the floor polish is liquid enough), applying it with a soft brush or air brushing it on.

Apart from that, Alclad made a clear coat specifically for their own chrome paint that doesn't ruin the shine, but that means you're bound to a specific product from a specific manufacturer. The coat is tested in these Youtube videos by [Adam Savage](https://youtu.be/rRSD3h0PooU) and [VinceVellCUSTOMS](https://youtu.be/T6JwSYKdK3g).

Of none of those solutions appeal to you, the next best option is to try different brush-on gloss varnishes. You should avoid any products containing xylene, toluene or acetone, because those will react with the chrome paint.

And one last tip: For best results many crafters propose applying a glossy black primer underneath the chrome spray paint. It just helps creating an even, metallic shine.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Just a note, the cosplay and miniature people loved Pledge Floor Gloss which is now discontinued and sells for like $50 a bottle or more online. I'm testing an alternative Quick Shine right now. It's a little cloudy but we'll see if it helps prevent dings and finger prints from embedding into the paint on touch. Thanks for the tips on the ingredients to watch for.  

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### Answer by username_1 on 2022-10-04. Score: 4

The question asks about coating chrome paint, but you really need to take a step back to the chrome finish, itself. Applying a chrome-looking finish to plastic has always been a challenge. Before you get to trying to top coat it for protection, it's tough to just get a mirror finish. If you are able to apply a mirror finish, then you face additional challenges of keeping it that way. Some finishes will darken. Some will eventually develop matte areas. Some will wear away if they get any handling. Some will degrade if exposed to sunlight. The need for protection, the type of protection required, and what protective coating is compatible will depend on what you used for the finish.

One approach is to **create the finish using something that doesn't require a protective coat**. A few possible ways to do this:

* Paint that looks like polished chrome is made using a silver-colored metal dust of extremely small particle size. If you mix some of that metal powder with a two-part epoxy top coat (designed for exterior use), you may get a polished chrome-like finish that is tough and stable enough to not require additional coating. This approach is something you would need to research further for precise implementation details.
* There is chrome vinyl wrap that is commonly used on car bodies. It will conform to the complex curves of a car body, but I'm not sure how practical it would be to apply it to a small emblem with a lot of tiny 3D details and 90° edges on what I assume is a round shape. Warming the film and vacuum forming it over the emblem might work. But again, this would take some research and trial. This video, [How to vinyl wrap with chrome](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOdAth82Qm4), will give you an idea of how the wrap behaves in normal application on a car body.

  Warming it and vacuum forming it over the emblem would provide more conformity, but it would need to be tried to see how well it works. Small, inexpensive vacuum formers are available or can be made. For this application, you just need a vacuum table (a box with a grid of holes that would probably work with a shop vac); the controlled heating needed to almost melt thick sheets of plastic would be too much for this kind of film.

**If you start with chrome paint**, username_4's answer is pretty much the bottom line. This video, [Protecting Alclad Chrome - 14 Clear Coats Tested](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kB9wwCyG1dw), compared 14 kinds of clear coats on a specific chrome paint. The results are probably applicable to other paints. Acrylic floor polish did one of the best jobs and was inexpensive compared to most of the other options. But the testing did identify a few other products that were very good or better. One was a two part epoxy, one was a specific polyurethane top coat, and the others were clear coats designed for this purpose. Note that the coatings were at least superficially tested for durability by trying to scratch them with a fingernail, but they weren't tested for how the materials hold up to sunlight.

BTW, in almost all cases, real durability requires allowing plenty of time for the paint to fully cure before coating it (on the order of a week, sometimes more), and allowing even more time for the clear coat to cure.

Also, in case you weren't aware of it, most experienced modellers don't spray chrome paint directly on the plastic part. They start with a base coat of a gloss black paint that bonds with the plastic and dries to a very smooth surface. The chrome paint is applied to that after it's cured (typically more than a day). It doesn't take a thick covering of chrome paint over the black to produce a chrome look.

But the main idea I wanted to cover is **something unusual that might be the best solution**, that I stumbled across in this video, [Chrome Finish on Plastic- Did I Find the Answer?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ninpBuzNSxQ). Coincidentally, the application in the video was chrome finishing a plastic hood ornament for a car. The video covers a number of products that were tested, but the surprising one was something sold as a system for fingernail polish.

You apply a clear, UV-cure acrylic resin that self-levels to a very smooth surface, and you harden it. Then you brush on a very fine colored powder (silver was one of the colors in the kit). A thin layer of the powder bonds to the coating and looks like polished metal.

The acrylic coating is tough (and immune to sunlight UV). I don't know how much handling the bonded powder would take before it wears off. But if it needs protection, my assumption is that this finish would be much easier to protect than chrome paint, with a bigger range of options. In the video, the author comments that the finish isn't fragile like chrome paint and thought there was no need to add a protective top coat on the hood ornament.

One other possibility is **chrome plating the plastic**. I thought this wouldn't be practical at home, but a Russian guy has a video, [Few people know this secret of plastic chrome plating!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZ4wyJvnHNQ), of how to do it with readily available materials that don't involve serious hazards. I'm not up on my chemistry enough to know what metal actually gets plated onto the plastic. In his process, the final plating step uses a solution made from stainless steel, and a lead electrode. I don't know if lead is used so it doesn't bond with all the ions in the solution, and the part gets plated with stainless steel, or the solution mainly serves as an electrolyte, and the part gets plated with lead. But it turns silvery and that may be all that matters. :-)

The author claims the process pulls chrome from the stainless steel into solution, and that's what gets plated. In another video, he plates an aluminum part with essentially the same process, but uses a stainless steel spoon instead of lead as the electrode. So the metal plated onto the part probably isn't lead.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Awesome research! This is definitely going to lead to a solution, I feel. I have a long way to go in testing to prove it against things like outdoor exposure and fingernail tests, but anymore it has become a personal crusade. I'm ordering some 2 part epoxy, and I also believe I will try an airbrush approach using the spaz stix stuff to see if their 3 part system is promising. The black base, chrome, then sealant. Eventually one of these will be the ideal solution given the parameters and I will have to report back. I'll likely mark as accepted then but want to make sure we have data first  
> **username_0**: But also, I will order some of the nail polish options and if it comes down to it, a more chemical means like adding the metal dust to the epoxy. The mirror finish isn't as important to me as the result looking metal without looking like spray paint metal, which has a definite spray paint look (like the hammered stuff or metallics in spray paint). The design is very scaly like a tiny snake so mirror finish kind of just gets noisy but silver like stainless steel looks great, which is why I waas ok with chrome spray in the first place. It's a shortcut solution, but it has cost a fortune so far  
> **username_4**: Oh damn, I've seen these metallic nail powders before, but I forgot about them! They can achieve truly stunning results, as demonstrated in [this YouTube video](https://youtu.be/sXOXPq9UOAI). The one in the video did react with an acrylic top coat, but as you need UV resin to apply it, you can top coat it with UV resin without any problems.  

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### Answer by username_5 on 2022-11-08. Score: 0

The frustration with trying to seal "chrome" paint and other substitutes is that they are just that: substitutes for a more intensive process which is the only way to get the resulting finish you are seeking. If you are going to mass produce them ("...might have to make thousands of these...") then a more industrial solution is both sensible and in the long run cheaper. And you will get real chrome, like you want.

I know this doesn't satisfy the OP question but for the problem at hand creating the real thing instead of using a substitute, at least once you move out of prototyping and into real production, would probably give you the most satisfaction.

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: At that scale, the issue isn't sending them out for plating, it's not making them on a 3D printer in the first place. Just sayin'.  
> **username_0**: Yeah, I would only use the 3D printer to make the initial design, cast it, then use the molds to manufacture. But as it stands, this is very small underground car club type stuff. Sure, they want all the bling, but they also understand they can have a fancy emblem badge or a full exhaust system. They tend to side with performance over looks.  

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