Chrome paint advice please (not really case-related, lol!)

Sumanji · 21 Jun 2009 at 09:12

Hey,

I have an old Mathmos lava lamp that I managed to destroy by using Brasso on the chrome effect finish "legs". I'm assuming this was just spray on chrome effect paint rather than actual electro-plated chrome? What would be the best way to re-do the chrome finish? Looked into getting them electro-plated, but the minimum cost was about £75 which isn't really worth it!

Here's what they look like now vs. what they should look like...

Cheers,

Su

BlackBat · 21 Jun 2009 at 10:56

I would have thought chrome spray paint would be the cheapest solution, as to how good it would look I don't know as I've never used any.

Sumanji · 21 Jun 2009 at 11:05

What's a good brand of spray paint to use? And do I need to use primer or anything underneath? Don't want it to chip off really easily...

Cheers,

Su

"andy" · 21 Jun 2009 at 12:13

they plastic or metal ?

loads of clear coat over the top should stop it flaking

i know the 'plastikote' chrome is ok but ive only used it on plastics

Sumanji · 21 Jun 2009 at 16:59

They're metal dude, quite heavy as well - stainless steel I guess?

Cheers,

Su

Soundood · 21 Jun 2009 at 17:05

wow, i use brasso to clean my watch collection ( worth twice the amount of my car) and its never done that :confused:

this is some mess, but hey positive thoughts, positive actions

have you thought it might be an opertunity to ditch the chrome look on the legs? (the paint is awful anyway)

how about a colour to match the oils in the lamp? orange or red maybe

or a cool blue? you could also go the easy route and get some blue 'hammered' hammerite spray paint, and have it done in 20 mins, looking good into the bargain.

Sumanji · 21 Jun 2009 at 17:18

Absolutely not

firstly, the body and top are white, and the oils are clear with white bubbles, so anything other than chrome or white would look awful tbh!

I just want it to look the way it did before I butchered it

brasso is totally safe (as you point out in your example) but I can only assume they used a really cheap and crappy chrome coating on the legs :mad:

Cheers,

Su

waso_dude · 21 Jun 2009 at 17:22

get your best flapping hand and polish them up

Sumanji · 21 Jun 2009 at 18:18

lol, will that work? What should I used?

Cheers,

Suman

Bradley8988 · 21 Jun 2009 at 18:52

That Chrome plating price seems really high. Will sort you a link on msn that should be a good deal cheaper.

Sumanji · 21 Jun 2009 at 20:29

Thanks duuuuuuude

Su

Sumanji · 23 Jun 2009 at 19:06

Hey,

Well I've been told they're probably made of ally and therefore not suitable for chrome electro-plating... but they can be anodised then polished to give a similar finish. Any ideas where I can get this done?

Cheers,

Su