Chrome paint not sticking
 

Hi everyone, I know this is probably more of a showcase area than problem solving, but I thought I'd ask anyway. I decided to give the fastrax chrome spray a try on a bodyshell I've been working on for my HPI Sprint 2, but even after really carefully going over the body when preparing it for paint, when i've sprayed it down with the chrome, it's almost like the paint hasn't bitten down into the polycarbonate surface at all.

All the other layers of paint have stuck perfectly, just not the chrome and i'm not totally sure why. When I shot the chrome, I had noticed it was quite sensitive even after being dried for a few hours and days, but I thought it would be fine once it had dried out fully. Has anyone else had this experience before? I know only a few companies do the chrome finish paints at the moment, but are they all this sensitive?

It has certainly put me off using the fastrax chrome again, that's for sure, but i'd still like to be able to try some of the airbrush chromes (RCS & Faskolor) at some point. Does anyone else have any experience using them?

Thanks in advance,
Oliver

chrome
 

i painted a whole tamiya egress body with the fast chrome spray can paint ... had the same results flaking after knocks etc..... to the point that i could just tape gaffa tape to the inside and remove it all and start again... i did a load of research before hand that said you really had to degrease the bodyshell ( more thougherly than usual ) to aid adhesion but that you were not supposed to rough up the inside of the bodyshell like you would normally do, which is also not helpful if you want the paint to stick. i since tried rcs chrome paint that you use in an airbrush kit and it sticks really well, but i have only used it sparingly on areas that dont flex so much when taking the bodyshell on and off. also i backed it witha waterbased black spray paint so im not sure if that has helped?

Fastrax chrome
 

Hi dude ,I use it straight out of the tin as i dont do smelly paints out of my airbrushes for H&S reasons ,but ensure you really wash out the shell well with loads of washing up liquid and a soft sponge and hot water then fully dry out :lol:,warm the tin (Chrome) in warm water shake well so the paint sprays finer(Atomises) and do a few light coats and dry with hairdryer between coats and dry then back with water based black and do this color as your last process,i might have said stuff you all ready know and have done but this method works for me ,but dont give up keep practising :lol:

I sacked off using Chrome ages ago (for all the reasons you mentioned) - just use waterbased silver now - looks similar and sticks to shell :)

Andy, same as you, I discourage chrome on any shell, it sits as a film on the lexan and doesn't chemically etch into the lexan. The larger the area the worse the issue.

Hmmm in that case I think i'll keep chrome usage to the very minimum! If it's this fragile to use, it's not really worth using (not that I was really planning to use it very much anyway). Luckily it was only a really small area on the shell, and i've managed to repair it (I had to spray a light mist of silver on the outside of the shell), so i'll just use the body as more of a runner than a display shell like i'd planned. It's just a pain when you spend so much time doing a shell.

Now I just need to work on some more graphics/sponsors for the shell :)

Thanks again for the advice guys, it's very much appreciated.

Solvent chromes work fine as long as you treat them as such and don't expect them to perform the same as standard paints that have adhesive agents in them.
If you struggle, always do the chrome last and back well with a waterbased colour. Then seal your shells as normal.
Not had any issues touch wood, and I have painted a good few shells ;)

i've had the same problem with the fastrax chrome,the custom colour
chrome uesd to be great but no one sells it anymore?

has anyone tryed the core-rc chrome is it just a rebrand of something else
or know were i can get some custom colour chrome from.

I've moved to a pearl used silver from auto air, looks similar with none of the headaches of chrome paint! :)

As said above, chromes sticks as a layer to the shell and doesn't bond like paint and should be the last colour applied, it will stick. I try to use pearl silver as much as possible though.