Great video.  Excellent solutions for model trains.  I wonder if these would hold up in the outdoors on autos and motorcycles.  Thanks for posting.

I doubt it would be good for outdoor use, but a great solution for model trains.

Now that is really impressive! I bet the guys in the Auto section would love to watch this one!

For me the good thing is the wife already has the curing light and liquid all I would need is the power!

Thanks for sharing it John!

Interesting video, John and thanks for posting this. The best solution IS surprising and to me is clear winner. 😉

Watching this video has motivated me to go down and finish the pilots ends of my GP9 B unit project, which need to be painted Harbor Mist Gray. I only hope I have the paint. 😳

I'll bet it would make great looking bumpers on 1950's vintage model cars.

The "chrome" nail polish idea is interesting.  Ladies, of course, demand a smooth finish to their nails.  I'm in the process of gloss spraying decals to seal them.  But I get a little bit of a textured finish.  Has anyone tried clear nail polish over decals to seal them?  It seems like it brushing on gloss polish might be a lot faster and easier than having to tape off for spray painting and could give a nice smooth finish.   

the lego frame/form for the silicone mold makes me laugh because it's dang clever

Looks good.  I'll havew to watch it again and pay more attention to the nail polish.  Then I can ask my daughter about it.

For modeling, the nail polish products would probably be fine, as there’s not much handling once the piece is finished, ….like say the bumpers of a car on a layout, or anything similar,…….the fella in the video was on the right path with electroplating. The mistake he made ( I made it too ) was trying to rely on rattle can products before the plating process, and more than likely not properly removing all of the mold release agent,…..that’s the most crucial part. I’ve plated a ton of automotive plastic parts, some originals, and some reproduction parts that don’t come pre-plated …..the correct prep paint for plating plastic parts is shot from a gun, not a rattle can…..and the products in a line must be compatible to one another. So urethanes, follow urethanes, the pre-material used to spray on plastics before plating is a copper infused material, in a urethane reducer, once the reducer flashes, ( or evaporates ) the copper is left behind, and is ready for plating, …….naturally, the plating is attracted to the copper in the electroplating bath,……I can say this because I made all the mistakes that fella made,……😁

Pat

@harmonyards posted:

For modeling, the nail polish products would probably be fine, as there’s not much handling once the piece is finished, ….like say the bumpers of a car on a layout, or anything similar,…….the fella in the video was on the right path with electroplating.

I have no doubt that plastic can be plated with electroplating, as you say, the automotive industry has been doing it for decades!  However, considering his stated goal of off-the shelf and simple, I think the nail polish worked pretty well.  Just reading your description of electroplating makes me want to find a simpler method!

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

I have no doubt that plastic can be plated with electroplating, as you say, the automotive industry has been doing it for decades!  However, considering his stated goal of off-the shelf and simple, I think the nail polish worked pretty well.  Just reading your description of electroplating makes me want to find a simpler method!

Yeah, agreed, and no doubt it ain’t practical for this hobby, unless a plethora of Santa Fe diesels needed chrome plated sides for whatever reason,……I too like the nail polish product ……that looks like it holds some promise ……and very much in budget for this hobby,…..

Pat

Thanks for posting this, John. Been thinking a long time about how to do a chome caboose to accompany my Lionel chrome finish 8054 Burlington F3 A-A engines with their consist of Lionel and MTH chrome finish tank cars. Looks like my silver Burlington caboose may take a trip to the nail salon for some polishing.

This guy has done awesome work electroplating 3d prints. Makes it look easy.

link: https://youtube.com/watch?v=vs...Zc&feature=share

Pretty cool.  For small parts I had decent results with the Molotow chrome pens from amzn.  I used these for Frosty Bar stools.

Don

@TheRambles posted:

This guy has done awesome work electroplating 3d prints. Makes it look easy.
link: https://youtube.com/watch?v=vs...Zc&feature=share

He certainly got great results, but he worked his butt off to get it!   That looked anything but easy to me!  Contrast that with the nail polish process and you can see which one I'd pick.

Y'all can have all of that stuff. I'll stick with "Molotow". Wonder why he didn't try it?

@TheRambles posted:

This guy has done awesome work electroplating 3d prints. Makes it look easy.

link: https://youtube.com/watch?v=vs...Zc&feature=share

He sure had a lot of specialized equipment and supplies.  It was like watching Batman create something in the Batcave.  Have you ever seen a Youtube presenter who didn't make it look simple and easy?

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

He certainly got great results, but he worked his butt off to get it!   That looked anything but easy to me!  Contrast that with the nail polish process and you can see which one I'd pick.

If one includes the time and materials, not to mention all the equipment, how much do you think that helmet cost him?  And we think our stuff is expensive.  How many people have a 30-amp power supply sitting around?  Well, maybe you do...

Yep.  Molotow Liquid Chrome, item 703-102 (2mm).

Did this back in 2013 - works great.  KISS principle in action.

George

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

I have no doubt that plastic can be plated with electroplating, as you say, the automotive industry has been doing it for decades!  However, considering his stated goal of off-the shelf and simple, I think the nail polish worked pretty well.  Just reading your description of electroplating makes me want to find a simpler method!

FWIW Kodak developed the chrome on plastic process back in the ‘50s for their cameras.

Pete

@Big Jim posted:

Y'all can have all of that stuff. I'll stick with "Molotow". Wonder why he didn't try it?

I looked it up, I see where they intended their paints to go.

For 25 years MOLOTOW is developing concepts for graffiti spray cans, graffiti markers and urban painting supplies

@G3750 posted:

Yep.  Molotow Liquid Chrome, item 703-102 (2mm).

Did this back in 2013 - works great.  KISS principle in action.

George

No offense George, but that chrome doesn't look nearly as good as the effect in the video.

Is molotow available in a bottle so it can be used with an airbrush?

@jini5 posted:

Is molotow available in a bottle so it can be used with an airbrush?

It does come in a bottle though I have not tried to use it in an airbrush yet. You can get a shiny chrome appearance with the pen but you have to apply it very wet. Don’t use it like a marker.

Pete

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

No offense George, but that chrome doesn't look nearly as good as the effect in the video.

I'm not offended.  It's strictly a matter of how much effort one wants to expend and the desired quality of the finish. 

George

Yes, it does better when applied wet. I prefer brushing it on. The bottle has a small hole that makes it easy to put a small amount in a condiment cup in order to use a brush.

There are videos out there showing it being sprayed.

Great video! Then my mind wandered... I could make MPC-era box car trucks match the trucks on a new Menards F3. Shiny!

Model car guys use bare metal foil, an adhesive backed thin foil they burnish the bubbles and wrinkles out of and to confirm it to the part contours, then trim the outlines with scalpel blades. I read about it but have yet to try it.

@CK posted:

Model car guys use bare metal foil, an adhesive backed thin foil they burnish the bubbles and wrinkles out of and to confirm it to the part contours, then trim the outlines with scalpel blades. I read about it but have yet to try it.

That sounds way more complicated then using the nail polish technique.

Great video, John.  Thanks for sharing.  Wish I had that nail polish technique when I was building model cars in my teens....

Steven J. Serenska

Thanks for interesting  video John. Nail polish sold me.

I was surprised how good it looked when he was done.

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

I was surprised how good it looked when he was done.

What I don't understand is why anyone would want their fingernails to look like a shiny chrome bumper...although, to be fair, there are many things I don't understand these days. 

@Serenska posted:

...although, to be fair, there are many things I don't understand these days. 

BINGO!

There are many things I don't even try to understand these days.

Happened across another link regarding Chrome Finish and thought I toss it out here in case anyone is interested.

Alclad Chrome & Black Chrome Review - This Stuff Is Awesome !! - YouTube

bd

FWIW, I sent this link to my son who did numerous restoration jobs on 70's & 80's toys (Transformers, etc.).  This was his reply :

"I used to use Alcad products. I got them from Hobbytown USA back in the day and they look good when you can do things that are smooth. I just felt like the nail polish powder worked better for me."

bd

great share! I'll be trying it!