hydrochrome

[jp1gt]

I have spent the last 6 months and a few thousand dollars looking into how to duplicate electrochrome with hydrochrome. There are many companies that sell the chemicals for the process and many schools of thought. My thinking is if you have a piece of electroplated metal does hydrochrome look IDENTICAL? I have finally done it. If you look at a car the chrome has a little blue tint. that is the difficult part---- the big advantage is that you can repair a piece just as you would for painting, filling holes even glueing broken pieces together. I have only done small pieces so far but I am going to chrome my bumpers in the future. How do we start the discussion?

[Mike Baillargeon #15848]

Anything that quite possibly could save us thousands of dollars sounds good to me...

Can you post a before and after of the piece you've done so far?

Mike

[harvey b]

Pictures are a good start ,would love to see some pieces you have done,i think it would be great for some of the small pot metal parts that would cost a small fortune to do.Anything that could be sandblasted and filled,it would save a lot of obsolete parts that are just too expensive to do the old fashioned way?. harveyb

[Ralph Messina CLC 4937]

Here's a video of the process: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvtRYZ5EasA 

I'm curious about the materials, hardness and durability of the finished Product. Several years ago I saw a demonstration by a vender at Hershey. The finished product looked exactly like chrome. He also some with gold finishes for emblems

[jp1gt]

It is very promising for small parts. You can glue pot metal pieces together fill pits and you would never know. I have been messing around with it for 6 months. Was disappointed in the beginning but the hydrochrome place in Cleveland has the right chemicals and process--The start up would be about 1000.00 at the bare minimum. I think it would be a great project for a group of people to work together on. We can share ideas and what does not work also!!!!

[The Tassie Devil(le)]

If only it worked as shown.

A couple of years ago, a friend down here, professional painter, tried to use a similar process on a motor bike petrol tank.   Followed the instructions to the letter, and the finished object was horrible.   No chrome at all.

He was advised by the agent to try again.   Same conclusion.

Oh, and wasted over $300.00 in the process.

Bruce.

[fishnjim]

I just looked up the current price for chromium and it's around $5/lb and only a v-small amount goes on a bumper, so the problem is not chrome, per se.
Chrome used to sell around $2-3/# in the past.  The triple plate process takes a lot of manual labor to prepare the pieces and it takes a fair number of hours in the various baths.  They came up with flash plating and other processes to save some time but if you want good ole bright triple plate(Cu/NI/Cr), you'll be paying for it.  Plus there's a heap of cost in EPA correct disposal of chrome/plating wastes.  It's not very difficult but takes a bit of "art" to get it looking good.  If it was as easy as just dipping it in a chrome bath, it'd cost a lot less.  But that doesn't happen, won't adhere.   Copper bonds to the iron, Nickel bonds to the copper and chrome to the nickel.  One of the other problems is a lot of these old decorative parts were made from pot metal, and the pot metal doesn't last so that needs repaired as well.
Last time I priced (pre-covid) the "paint" for these pseudo chrome methods, was around $300/gal, plus you had to buy a machine that cost thousands to apply it properly.  From what I was informed it's the water reduction part of the process that's difficult.   So unless you're willing to invest and do work, it doesn't make much sense, except for unusual/custom effects, etc.  Maybe if your car needs "chrome" and value doesn't support the cost to do it OEM and someone could do it reasonably for you, aka driver quality, etc.  I can still tell the difference so it's still got a way to go by my stds.

[jp1gt]

When I get some time I will duplicate something that is chromed and then hydrochrome it. Don't know when. Current projects--headgaskets on 2001 subaru forester, renting a snake to unplug a drain, putting in a 2 post and 4 post lift in my shop, trimming the mesquite trees, working on the 29 Cad. I would have more time if I did not have to sleep!!!

[yachtflame]

Just clone yourself!

[scotth3886]

Here's a video of the process: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvtRYZ5EasA 

I'm curious about the materials, hardness and durability of the finished Product. Several years ago I saw a demonstration by a vender at Hershey. The finished product looked exactly like chrome. He also some with gold finishes for emblems

Ralph,

In the linked vid it appears that there is some orange peel in the finished piece.  Did you see the same with what you saw at Hershey? 

[jp1gt]

The flaw was caused by the base coat not the chrome process. Since it is a chemical process contamination is also a big problem. My hope is to get the process so that I can get a perfect piece the first time every time.

[Ralph Messina CLC 4937]

Scott,

No. The clear coat looked like it had been done under professional spraying conditions. I attribute the orange peel in the video to the use of spray bottles.

[Artistic Precision]

Ive seen similar processes before, but all the ones Ive seen have 2 or more people spraying the part at once, with a "part A" and a "part B" solution, at the same time. Always been curious to see final results in person. Ive used some "chrome" paints before, but wasnt happy with the results. But there are other paint products I havent used yet that are supose to be pretty good. But, with all "faux chrome" techniques, it will never look as good as the real thing. Check out Rohan Izawa from Japan. He does full chrome and gold car paint jobs, with engraved body work, and layered tape out graphics to make the whole car look like its engraved with patterns and chromed or gold over. Pretty wild.

https://youtu.be/OJgGIAimHe0

https://youtu.be/aT4latKefxI

But, with the chrome paints, you dont get the mirror finish real chrome has. It has a bit of a haze or cloudiness to it.

[jp1gt]

Started with Chrome paint it was a waste of time, not even close. Throwing information out there for questions and what worked best for me. I almost gave up until I found cosmichrome.

[Artistic Precision]

Started with Chrome paint it was a waste of time, not even close. Throwing information out there for questions and what worked best for me. I almost gave up until I found cosmichrome.

House of Kolor?