How to get a smoked chrome finish??

[Fransua]

Hi
I am on a mission to get some kind of ultra-glossy black look to paint mags. I've done some experiments and found that 2k black, color sanded and buffed to limits gets a pretty nice effect, but not exactly what I'm looking for.
The thing is I cannot spray chrome so smoked chrome is not really an option.
I've considered these spray chrome in a can from Dupli-colour, but it is enamel and then will not be able to top it off with a black lacquer candy. Not really a fan of enamel so I'm trying to avoid it.

I'm thinking that whatever is sprayed last needs to be extra high gloss to get the reflective chrome effect ... any ideas on extra gloss clear coats?

Any ideas on what to try to get this effect?
Just to put it out there, I do spraypainting and airbrushing so please don't tell me to spray more coats of clearcoat untill the desired gloss effect is reached (I got this on another forum!)

This mag is pretty much the desired effect:

 

[TAZ]

I believe that is achieved through powdercoating. You basically have to start with a chrome wheel, then spray transparent black over it.

Check out the Alsa's "Black Chrome".
Do a Google search for it. They have all kinds of neat special effect paints.
Let us know what you come up with.

 

[Fransua]

I've checked out Alsa and did a google search already. But you need to buy special equipment to do most of the "chrome" jobs as it is water based and chemicals need to do their job.
I've come up with one almost desireable effect with Dupli-colour Chrome spray (Can). But obviously the black candy clear coat wrinkles it up.
Searching for some product that can seal off the enamel chrome so I can spray lacquer black candy over it.....
Will let you know if the experiment works

 

[Fransua]

Just did a few experiments.... It does not really matter how reflective your "Base Chrome" is, as the reflection depends on the final coat (being the candy black)
Took a piece of stainless steel and polished one side up to look like chrome and left the other side at a flat but dull state. Sprayed 2 coats of candy black over it and could not see the difference.

So in my opinion the best way to get this effect on a budget is as follows. You may differ from me, but please give your opinion.

1. Make sure your surface is 100% smooth before spraying anything. Sand it last with at least 1000 grid water paper
2. Spray a very fine silver 2k (like aluminium silver).Note it should NOT have a metallic look but more a chromish polished look. Make sure that coat is as smooth as possible. No orange peel what so ever. The reason I used aluminium silver 2K and not a base coat is because the basecoat will not give you that chromish polished look.
3. Wait for flash off time and cover it with a light coat of clear coat. Again as smooth as possible. This is just to seal down the silver so it doesn't mix with the candy in the next coat.
4. Wait for flash off time and cover with a few coats of black candy clear coat. This is your decision as to how dark you want it. Make sure you keep in mind how many coats you spray so that all 4 mags will match the same darkness.
5. Wait for it to dry properly then sand down with 1500 grid water paper until it is super smooth with no orange peel or unevenness what so ever.
6. Clean and prepare it well before the next step.
7. Finally mix a very thin clearcoat mix. 60% clear and hardener with 40% thinners.
8. Spray a very light but glossy coat over the mag. Make sure it is 100% smooth but watch out for tears.

The reason for the last coat is just to cover the scratch marks made by the 1500 grid water paper. If you are doing a flat surface you can skip 6, 7 & 8 and just sand again with 2000 grid water paper and buff it up to a perfect shine. But when doing a mag wheel you cannot fit the buff everywhere which will leave you with dull spots. Make sure you use appropriate thinners like 2k thinners to spray and not lacquer thinners. Lacquer thinners will mess up your very first coat of silver and you will end up with a normal candy black with metallic base look.

Note this is not real smoked chrome but only a smoked chrome effect that you can do by yourself.
I am going to do a set of mags and will post some pics when I am done.
Anybody feel like they can add to this, please do!

 

[Fransua]

Heres a quick sprayout of what it looks like when you follow these steps. Note I sprayed about 4 coats of candy black to get it very very dark.

 

[aarushi]

Hi everyone,

actually painting is a art through which we can explain any type of emotions with the help of pencil and colors... but i was also confused about the same and i was finding the solution from long last time.. Finally i came over this forum website and i got what i exactly wanted... Thanks to all viewers....