Advice for chrome spray-painting 3D printed plastic parts

[mister42]

Hi all,

Tomorrow morning I will be collecting some 3d printed black plastic parts from the printer. I need to QUICKLY make these black parts chrome (by halloween day some time), and the quickest way seems to be chrome spray paint. I know that's not enough time for it to fully dry/cure but I need the thing chromed and I need it quickly.

After reading through several threads, the consensus methodology seems to be: sand such that the surface is as smooth as possible, use a black gloss base coat, and then hit it with light, misty layers of the chrome spray paint. People generally stay away from using a clear topcoat or whatever cuz it tends to dull the chrome look.

My question is: what is a "base coat?" is a "base coat" a specific category of product? like, can i go to the hardware or hobby store and ask for a spray can of "base coat" or is a base coat just a term for a first layer of spray paint? so in that case, i'd just ask for black gloss spray paint, and then a chrome spray paint? (i have an idea for which chrome spray i want - rustoleum bright coat metallic finish - but not sure what to get for a "gloss black base coat")

second, is there a difference between a "primer" and a "base coat"? in some cases i saw people say use a gloss black primer, instead of gloss black base coat, or someone even said "undercoat" so i'm a little confused.

Any advice on the stuff above and getting this stuff painted ASAP would be super helpful.

thanks.

 

[robn1]

Base coat just means a first coat, noting special. Gloss black from the same maker as the chrome is ideal, but not necessary. Rustoleum is a pretty good chrome, just don't touch it for a couple months. It'll be fine just be careful how you handle it.

And it sounds lie you have the right idea, very light mist coats of chrome. Let the finish build up to what you want. It's the gloss black that will provide most of the shine.

 

[mister42]

Base coat just means a first coat, noting special. Gloss black from the same maker as the chrome is ideal, but not necessary. Rustoleum is a pretty good chrome, just don't touch it for a couple months. It'll be fine just be careful how you handle it.

And it sounds lie you have the right idea, very light mist coats of chrome. Let the finish build up to what you want. It's the gloss black that will provide most of the shine.

Thank you for your response! On my way now to pick up the spray paint... We'll see how it goes. Thanks.

 

[Gordon Gekko]

You can also clear coat your "chrome" paint with Pledge Floor Care. Won't "kill" the metallic paint.

 

[mister42]

You can also clear coat your "chrome" paint with Pledge Floor Care. Won't "kill" the metallic paint.

Thanks for that advice. I won't have time to try it in time for halloween, but may give it a go afterward, but so far, I'm pretty happy with the look, given the low total cost of this project. We'll see how it looks after a day of drying at around 5 or 6 pm Saturday.

Yes, it's a 3d printed Jurassic Park Cryocan


edit: not sure if those photos will work, may be too large. if not i'll post 'em to imgur at a later time after i complete the project