Chrome at home

There are three solutions at StardustColors to imitate chrome effects, and one of them is called silvering.
Silvering is a chemical method or process. It is totally different from a conventional paintwork process. This chemical reaction creates a microscopic film of silver on the surface of a glossy clearcoat. This is called a silver mirror.

The traditional method of spraying for professionals is done with a machine and tanks. We have developed a « chrome at Home » method to allow anyone to perform this chemical technique.

The Chrome At'Home solutions manufactured by StardustColors consist of a base and clearcoat, spray bottles and 4 concentrated water-based solutions. With all this, it is possible to chrome almost any object, provided that the size limit of the object is respected (about 25 cm x 25 cm max).

The ‘Chrome at home’ Bath Method

This method is complex and requires strict adherence to instructions and cleanliness. Ultra pure distilled water must be used for each mixing or rinsing.
The main steps of this homemade chrome bath are as follows :

First, of course, is the preparation of the part for paintwork. This first step is to apply a very hard glossy clearcoat, which is left to dry for several days.
The following steps are the chemical steps that must be applied all in a row without a single stop.
In summary, these steps to create this « chrome made at home » are wetting, rinsing, activating, rinsing, spraying both products A and B simultaneously.

These products A and B are those which will produce the silver mirror : they are respectively silver in the form of silver nitrate and its reducer (B)

See in red on the product page the PDF of the procedures and the details of the kits.
See on the product page the demonstration videos.

Conditions and limitations of the home silvering technique

With the products are delivered plastic pump sprayers, with a capacity of one litre. They can be filled with liquid, but always with a good part of air to be able to pump and achieve the air pressure in the sprayer. This means that the sprayers can be filled to half, that is with 500 ml of mixture.
With this limited power and capacity, one can only treat parts of a very reasonable size, i.e. from 5 cm to 20 cm.
Other conditions for the successful application of the technique are the ambient and water temperature, as well as the shape and composition of the workpiece.

Silver plating: a difficult technique to master

Like any chemical reaction, it is subject to multiple factors, sometimes difficult to understand. It is therefore very important to respect each recommendation and each precaution to the letter. It is indeed very easy to fail, either by the absence of the appearance of silver, and most often by the appearance of stains or defects.
In case of failure, it is often necessary to start all over again. And since this is a technique with multiple steps and many days of work, it is best not to save yourself the trouble of reading and carefully rereading the user guide and watching the available videos.
The best video we recommend is the 15-minute video dedicated to the application with the machine, you can request it by email for free.

Product for chrome and chromium plating
Chrome paint