Chroming

Never have done it but I would imagine the motorcycle shops and auto shops could help you. Check plating services in your area.

What media??? Metal and plastic are two different processes.

The only home kits that really work are pretty costly. Google Jay Leno Chrome and you will see one that works....but is about $400 to start.

For a few small parts I'd locate a local chrome plater, if its metal parts.  A buddy of mine restores cars and gets a number of old parts re-plated.

Only issue is small towns don't often have someone......I know LA does!

If plastic look up Chrome-Tech USA.

So, you have a few small items you would like re-chromed?..I sure hope you have deep, very deep pockets. Your best and cost wise choice would nickel. Most items on our toys are just that. What items do you want to make pretty again? Have you thought about contacting Micro-Mart? Their little kit to re-plate small items might be your best bet. (I'm going this route next time for my prewar items.)

Speaking from experience, plating shops are only in a few states now. I live in CA, I had to send my parts to TX. Each has their own minimum rate. These are usually in the hundreds of dollars.

 

I was going to get some bronze PAs nickel plated. $100 minimum charge.  Have you considered silver paint?  Much more realistic than shiny chrome, although not authentic for the antique value of the model.

Plastic parts CAN NOT BE CHROME PLATED. Only metal or base metal parts can be chrome plated.

Plastic parts are vacuum plated with aluminum. I have had Chrome-Tech USA do a number of parts and they do a GREAT job.....under $50 for smaller parts. This is the same process manufactures use to 'chrome' plate plastic.  

Check them out.

From the net.......

 

Before the process can begin, the plastic component is washed and coated with a base coat, so that the metal layer is smooth and uniform. Next, a metal (typically aluminum) is evaporated in a vacuum chamber. The vapor then condenses onto the surface of the substrate, leaving a thin layer of metal coating. The entire process takes place within a vacuum chamber to prevent oxidation. This deposition process is also commonly called physical vapor deposition. Depending on the component’s application, a top coat may be applied after deposition to increase properties such as abrasion resistance. Metalized plastic components that receive their coats via this process are found in a range of applications, from automotive interior parts to certain types of foils.

You might consider looking at what Alsa Corp has to offer when it come to adding a chrome finish to objects that are NOT metal. 

 

Its chrome in a spray can!  The first object the 'chrome' is a black ceramic tile, then a plactic test form they can sell you to practice on - watch their videos here:

http://www.alsacorp.com/live/view_killerchrome.html 

 

I have not used these products nor am I affiliated with Alsa in any way.  I just found out about them due to my interest in old cars...

 

http://www.alsacorp.com/produc.../kc/killerchrome.htm

 

Hope this is helpful!

 

Best,

Dave

We used to call this vacuum metalizing.
Looks just like chrome. But to protect it you really need a catalyzed clear coat which will change the look slightly.
Uncoated is really only good for lamp reflectors with a clear lens.

The reason it wears off is because it is so thin and soft.
And I concur.  I no longer restore motorcycles because real triple plate chrome process is cost prohibitive due to EPA restrictions on waste disposal.

try lakeside chrome plating in Conneaut Ohio they do unbelievable work and they said they offer a lifetime warranty on their chrome. the pieces i saw at Dave & ed's swap meet in July were extremely well done. i worked at a plating co in Chicago one summer and they did great work but this guys the best i've seen

RRaddict2,

I had no idea that you wanted plastic plated. AMCDave answered your need up above. Plastic parts are coated with plastic. A much cheaper process than metal. All my trains are metal made before 1935.

You might try the foil kits that are made to do the chrome parts on model cars. You burnish the foil onto the workpiece, I think. They come in high-shine or brushed and in various metals. I noticed them at my LHS the other day; I think the price was around $8.99 but my memory could be off. There was a guy on the Tinplate board who used foil to restore a prewar Zephyr-type train. He posted a photo and it looked pretty good. 

 

The Micro-Mark plating kits are conventional electroplating kits. They will not work on plastic. 

Contact Doug Peck at Port Lines Hobby Supply. He offers chroming services for AF passenger cars and diesel shells at $65 per shell. No reason his jobber could not do Lionel's. This is real vacuum chroming as used by Lionel and Gilbert back in the 50's and 60's, not a painting process. I have a small kit I got for using on metal it works pretty good. I cannot recall where I got it but the idea came from posts on this forum.

Gandy

That product is 'Bare Metal Foil'.  I keep two packs on hand at all times. A good product but best used on 2-D subjects. When you start wrapping it around items you get wrinkles and voids. Here it is in use......

The trim on the sides or the car and around all the windows is Bare Metal Foil.

 

Don't know if this meets your requirements, but hardware stores carry chrome spray paint in cans. Seems like the simplest and least expensive solution to at least try. Home Depot, for example, carries a number of different brands of these. Some of them, not all, require a base coat of gloss black, and the chrome paint is sprayed over that.

I have tried 4-5 different spray 'chrome' paints. None match the can cap which is Vac Plated and not the actual paint!!!

There is a spray paint that looks OK.....but it's air brush only over a black base coat. And it's rather fragile so care must be used around it.

Spray can 'chrome' is really just a glossy silver.

 

Chrome Tech USA specializes in rechroming plastic parts for modelers.I recently had them rechrome all the aged chrome on my Mighty Casey engine.They did a excellent job and the price wasn't bad.

Their website is:Chrome Tech USA

Dan

Not true Dave, plastic can be plated. We have sent out several NOS unpainted F3 cabs for business customers and them chrome plated. We use Cybershield in Texas. They used to do aircraft instrument bezels and automobile dash board restoration work.

 

http://www.cybershieldinc.com/plating-plastic/

 

 

 

do they do one offs I got a couple of diecast shells I want chromed

 

It's been quite a while since we used them, give them a call.

Reading their website they are using a form of vac plating. Traditional chrome plating still requires dipping item in a vat of very hot chromium....thus plastic will never make it through  the process.....we are splitting terminology here.

 

Chrome-tech usa will not do metal....only plastics.

Dave,

 

I believe you need to do a little more reading on their Electroless and Electroplating processes. They do not dip plastic parts in a hot tank to add the required copper coat, they spray it on. When they chrome the same piece, it's done in a zero atmosphere, not in a vacuum atmosphere as in vacuum plating.