dull clear coat the chrome plated parts?

[youpey]

I saw on a video on youtube that the dude dull clear coated the chrome plated parts to make them less plastic looking. does anyone else do this? i am trying it on a test piece grill but its still drying

 

i can post pictures tomorrow if anyone is interested, but if anyone has done it before, i am interested in seeing the results

[peteski]

I've sprayed Testors Dullcote to make the "chromed" (metalized plastic) model wheels look like brushed or satin aluminum.  I have also done that to model truck fuel tanks.

I masked the straps to leave them "chrome", and sprayed the tank with Dullcote.  Then I took a fine black permanent marker and drew in the "rubber cushion" under the straps.

Edited January 19, 2021 by peteski

[HJK]

Wow, Peter, that tow truck looks gorgeous! It's hard to tell whether it's real or a model. Juergen

[sfw1989]

14 hours ago, youpey said:

I saw on a video on youtube that the dude dull clear coated the chrome plated parts to make them less plastic looking. does anyone else do this? i am trying it on a test piece grill but its still drying

 

i can post pictures tomorrow if anyone is interested, but if anyone has done it before, i am interested in seeing the results

Interested to see the results of this......

[Fat Brian]

I've never had a problem with Chrome so I don't dullcote it unless I'm going for that look.

[SCRWDRVR]

I use the Testors Dullcote on my nascar wheels it makes them look more like they are used in my opinion

 

[slusher]

15 hours ago, peteski said:

I've sprayed Testors Dullcote to make the "chromed" (metalized plastic) model wheels look like brushed or satin aluminum.  I have also done that to model truck fuel tanks.

I masked the straps to leave them "chrome", and sprayed the tank with Dullcote.  Then I took a fine black permanent marker and drew in the "rubber cushion" under the straps.

I never knew how the tanks and black rubber was done, thanks for that tip". I agree gorgeous wrecker!

[Bainford]

There are a lot of different clears out there, and some will provide varying results. Alclad makes clear in gloss, sheen, semi-matt, and matt. Each will make chrome look like different aluminum treatments. I quite like the sheen to make chrome look like polished aluminum, whereas semi-matt makes a nice unpolished aluminum and matt makes a decent flat or cast aluminum look. There are other clears that will lend a different look to coated chrome.

[Olskoolrodder]

I literally just came back in a 15 minutes ago from shooting dull coat on the chrome of a Revell Kenworth W900 (that was so "chromey" it looked way too toy like--so yes, other people do it too). Different brands of "semi-gloss clear" and "matte clear" will give you different levels of shine/no shine. I used Krylon "Matte Clear Coat" on this for example, because I knew it gave kind of an non-polished aluminum finish. (sorry, I didn't think to shoot pics of it before)

[High octane]

I've used Dull-Cote many times on chrome plated parts to make them look like aluminum, such as front bumpers, Moon tanks, and wheels also, especially for drag racing models. Moon tanks are never chrome plated but made from spun aluminum. I also use Tamiya Smoke on wheel covers and chrome engine parts to tame down the shine and also bring out the detail of these parts and it seems to work great.

[moparfarmer]

I use Tamiya Flat clear on Chrome headlamps on kits that still have them..Three or four coats just flows to the edges and looks fairly like lenses

[KWT]

I use Tamiya Flat over my chrome when I'm weathering a model. Then add some "rust"  to give it a older look.

[cobraman]

I use it to tone down chrome wheels as do others.

[peteski]

  

13 hours ago, HJK said:

Wow, Peter, that tow truck looks gorgeous! It's hard to tell whether it's real or a model. Juergen

 

9 hours ago, slusher said:

I never knew how the tanks and black rubber was done, thanks for that tip". I agree gorgeous wrecker!

Thanks guys! I built that wrecker close to 30 years ago. One of these days I'll scan more of the photos I took back then (with a film camera), and post it in Under Glass section.

I agree that by using flat finish with different sheen levels, (dead flat, flat, satin, semigloss) will produce different dulling effect on "chromed" parts.  I mostly use Testors Dull- and Gloss-cote, and I make custom mixtures of both to produce different levels of sheen.

 

Edited January 20, 2021 by peteski

[Force]

I have done it several times and it works great if you want to knock the shine down and get the right look.
You can also spray the chrome plated parts with a transparent color, for example yellow to get it to look like gold plating or brass.

 

[youpey]

Here is my test gmc grill. It looks ok, but i dont think its quite right. I don't know if i will try it again

 

Maybe i will try a gloss coat next time. This looks too much lije just silver paint

[peteski]

Yes, well, silver paint usually looks like bare unpolished  aluminum.  And the kit's "chrome" is a very thin layer of aluminum over plastic.  I'm not one who thinks that the "chromed" kit parts that are highly shiny chrome parts on the 1:1 car should be made less shiny on the model.  I like them to be mirror-like bright.

However in your example I think the grille is made from pressed aluminum, but you dulled it too much.  I think a mixture of 50/50  or even 40/60 Dull- and Gloss-cote would have given you the slightly more reflective finish you strive for. Straight Dull-cote will result is very flat (dull) finish.

Edited January 21, 2021 by peteski

[Rodent]

IIRC from the 1:1 I once owned, the surround was anodized aluminum and the grille insert was grey plastic. The paint surrounding the headlamps was silver. I used some Ford "argent" wheel paint to re-do it and it matched pretty well.