Inspector Hammer!

False advertising and chrome spray paint advice needed.

So here's the skinny, tonight I decided that I wanted to repaint one of my film statues, the 18" T2 Endoskeleton, to resemble one that I saw on another site that someone had painted. He painted his to look like steel rather than plastic, so I asked him how he did it but got no reply.

So, I went to my local True Value Hardware and found some "metallic" spray paint and primer, the paint's cap is a highly reflective chrome, like the fender of a car to give you an idea, but when I got it home and tested it on a piece of scrap, it doesn't look at all like the cap, it looks like regular ol' silver paint.

I was pissed because the cap gives the wrong impression of the paint color, but i'm glad I found out before I applied it to the figure. Anyway, I need spray paint that is chrome, not silver, does anyone know where I can get some and what it's called?

Thanks.

"There was that time I wanted to be an astronaut.
I wanted to be the first one to kill somebody on the moon."

CRyan

I assume you did prime the test surface first. The chrome paints absolutely require a well primed (sealed) surface to get the reflection as advertised.

Of course, you could have gotten a bad brand.

btw - same thing happenned to me and realized about a year later when I tried it again that the primer was the key.

Zack Gibbs

Well, as far as the finish thats on the cap, you're not going to get that with any kind of spray paint. You can get close though. Rust-oleum bright coat metallic finish (With the silver cap) works the best out of all the chrome paints for me. But you have to take care to get the best finish. You need to spray it in a very dry place, no humidity. Spray a light coat, let it dry for an hour or two, spray another light coat. Once you've covered it let it dry for a day, again keep it away from humidity or it will dull the finish, and DONT touch it at all after you've sprayed it, the metallic will pick up fingerprints like C.S.I. After a day, you HAVE to spray a clear coat over it to protect the finish, that goes with any chrome paint. Once you put that on let it dry for days, there's no telling how long it might take for all the paint to cure and you don't want to risk a print.

Other than that, Testors makes a metallic paint system that you can get in hobby shops. You spray it, buff it, and then use a special clear coat all designed to work together. And they make several finishes. I've never used this before so I can't tell you how effective it is, but it might be great. finally there is a product called "Bare-metal" or similar names, that is actual sheets of very thin metal, available in different types, chrome, steel, bronze, aluminum, etc. and it just has adhesive on one side. This can be very effective and taking into account all the seems on an endo skull, you could get a great look with this. You'll need to practice with it a little bit though, the sheets are very fragile and you need to get all the air bubbles out and everything.

Inspector Hammer!

Thanks, guy's. Yes, I did prime the test surface and let it dry for an hour before shooting the paint on. I suppose I could give this a shot, i've already covered the eyes, teeth and nose with masking tape.

"There was that time I wanted to be an astronaut.
I wanted to be the first one to kill somebody on the moon."

Inspector Hammer!

Well, I spent all morning on the figure, I primed it with one coat, waited 2 hours and then shot it with the first coat of metallic, waited another hour, shot it with the second and then waited another hour for a final third.

It came out looking too frosted for my taste, but what made it all work was the clear glosscoat I shot it with, I applied two thin coats of it and that made all the difference in the world, it looks great, still not like that other guy's but nice.

I have to conclude that the other guy must have dipped his figure in nickel or something because his is an exact film reproduction, I just wish he had returned my message.

"There was that time I wanted to be an astronaut.
I wanted to be the first one to kill somebody on the moon."

Trevor Harveaux

John,
You should have mentioned you were wanting to repaint a NECA 18" in your title. I would have noticed it sooner. I've chromed two so far. There are a few tricks.

First of all, I do not suggest using regular chrome paint found in hardware stores. I've done it, and the results are not quite up to par. What you really need to get a mirror finish is a paint called Alclad, it can be found in hobby stores. It's designed to be used on Lexan RC car bodies. Unfortunately, Alclad costs $8 for little bottle must be applied with an airbrush, so the costs add up quick.

For a primer use black GLOSSY paint. The Alclad picks up the surface, so the smoother the surface, the better the shine. Rather than masking off the teeth, I just repainted them, I didn't care for how very white they were in the first place.

I also repainted the gun to match the paint on Sideshows full scale version.

Here are some pics of one I made. I sold it, but am making 4 more if anyone is interested.

My ex-friend once told me that if I'm going to use big words, I ought to learn to use them correctly. I didn't mind what he said as much as I did his simultaneous tone of voice.

Inspector Hammer!

:b Um, Trevor, your BadVermin? Your the guy I was talking about in my post!!

I saw your work over at Statue Forum in one of the threads in the Action Figure area, my name is predatorhunter there and I just joined. Small world LOL!

Thanks for the advice, I already painted it, but is it too late to try again?

"There was that time I wanted to be an astronaut.
I wanted to be the first one to kill somebody on the moon."

Trevor Harveaux

Here is the version I made using standard hardware store paint. The sheen was nice, not a mirror finish, but it looks 1000% better than the unpainted toy. But even after two weeks the paint still hadn't hardened completely. I could live with that since I new what I was going to do next, I had planned on it before I even had the toy in my hands. I added some brown and black paint to make it look like it had been out fighting for a few months in a humid environment. It has now cured and turned out perfectly.

My ex-friend once told me that if I'm going to use big words, I ought to learn to use them correctly. I didn't mind what he said as much as I did his simultaneous tone of voice.

Trevor Harveaux

LOL. Yup, I'm BadVermin. =) I just joined over there about a month ago. I bought the full size Endoskeleton head. It's very sweet, but it cost more than my first car.

I'm not sure how well it would work to repaint him again. Honestly I have no clue. It might work, it might not. I would think that as long as the paint has cured is SHOULD work... But it might be better to just start over.

My ex-friend once told me that if I'm going to use big words, I ought to learn to use them correctly. I didn't mind what he said as much as I did his simultaneous tone of voice.