Comparison chrome paint from Vallejo vs. Green Stuff World (GSW)

[Mittagskind]

Here are the opponents:

 

Both spoons were primed with spray can flat black from the DIY store and finished with spray can clear gloss, slightly polished. The chrome paints were applicated with airbrush.

 

First a little test with brush. On the left Vallejo, on the right GSW. The GSW paint has definitely more chrome shine. The Vallejo paint appears silver only. Unfortunately the difference is not so good visible on the pic.

 

Now the spoon test.

Vallejo and GSW are definitely not the same colors, even if both come from Spain.

Using the Vallejo chrome I wasn't able to get a satisfactory spray pattern. The color quickly became lumpy and nothing more than a bright shiny silver could be achieved.

Completely different the GSW color. Shiny chrome almost like a mirror, I'm really excited.

After drying, the next thing I will do is test the sensitivity when touched and how the surface behaves when clear coat is sprayed on it.

 

Edited January 26, 2024 by Mittagskind

[jaymcminn]

The GSW looks great. Vallejo's Metal Color Chrome is loads better than the Model Air, but still does a better job of representing polished aluminum than actual chrome.

[GMP440]

Where can the GSW chrome paint be purchased from?

 

[Mittagskind]

22 minutes ago, GMP440 said:

Where can the GSW chrome paint be purchased from?

For example GSW is a seller on Ebay Germany, but located in Spain.

[Pierre Rivard]

The GSW looks like chrome but it's too good to be true. You just can't touch it...at all.

Hope you find a way with it because I failed miserably. Perhaps there is a way because it looks so good!

[NOBLNG]

1 hour ago, Pierre Rivard said:

The GSW looks like chrome but it's too good to be true. You just can't touch it...at all.

Hope you find a way with it because I failed miserably. Perhaps there is a way because it looks so good!

Try dipping it in Future/Pledge. It works very well for the Revell Chrom paint.

[dragstk]

I did a set of bumpers using the Green Stuff world. They looked really great just after I sprayed them. I let them set, undisturbed for a week. I gently eased them into place, and they looked ok. But I have noticed, now that they are about a month old, they are no longer as shiny as when I sprayed them. They seem to be slowly turning to polished aluminum.

[Mittagskind]

7 hours ago, Pierre Rivard said:

The GSW looks like chrome but it's too good to be true. You just can't touch it...at all.

Hope you find a way with it because I failed miserably. Perhaps there is a way because it looks so good!

I feared that too, Pierre. The chrome shine did not survive treatment with the water-soluble clear varnish from Humbrol. It will be no different with other clear coats. A paint from Alclad is supposed to be better, but it is currently not available here in Germany.

If necessary, the parts painted with GSW must be handled very carefully and handled with gloves. Light fingerprints can be carefully polished away.

[Mittagskind]

6 hours ago, NOBLNG said:

Try dipping it in Future/Pledge. It works very well for the Revell Chrom paint.

Thanks, Greg, I read this too, but Pledge is in Germany not available.

[#1 model citizen]

Thanks for sharing! I’m looking forward to the touch test. 

[Mittagskind]

2 hours ago, #1 model citizen said:

Thanks for sharing! I’m looking forward to the touch test. 

the surface is very sensitive. Touching it with your bare hand immediately leaves a mark. If they are not strong, you can carefully polish them away. In addition, the surface is very soft and sensitive to scratches.

I now want to try adding some clear varnish to the chrome paint before spraying. I will report.

[Mittagskind]

A mixture from GSW chrome with gloss varnish from a spray can is workable. you will get a very glossy and harder surface, but the chrome shine unfortunately is loosing.

A mixture from GSW chrome with an acrylic gloss varnish ( here Vallejo Premium) doesn't work. Immediately it is lumpy and luckely i didn't fill it in the airbrush.

At last I brushed the Vallejo gloss varnish on the GSW chrome. The chrome shine is retained quite well, but because the chrome surface is so smooth, it accepts the clear coat a little more poorly. Nonetheless, this seems to me to be the best option so far, to make the chrome surface some more resilient.

[stitchdup]

I wonder if gauzy shine enhancer or s-02 clear might work. I used both over molotowe with decent results if the molotowe was over paint, but a high chance of failure when over just molotowe. The s-02 was the better of the two but the gauzy was easier to find. I had to order the s-02 from out east somewhere as nowhere in europe seemed to stock it

[Mittagskind]

10 minutes ago, stitchdup said:

I wonder if gauzy shine enhancer or s-02 clear might work. I used both over molotowe with decent results if the molotowe was over paint, but a high chance of failure when over just molotowe. The s-02 was the better of the two but the gauzy was easier to find. I had to order the s-02 from out east somewhere as nowhere in europe seemed to stock it

Thanks a lot Les, but what products are you meaning with shine enhancer or s-02. I do not know these.

[stitchdup]

2 hours ago, Mittagskind said:

Thanks a lot Les, but what products are you meaning with shine enhancer or s-02. I do not know these.

these are the bottles. the s-02 label goes around the side so i took a second pic

[SfanGoch]

I'm not trying to bust chops. I'm only stating the facts. The spoon test isn't an accurate method because the styrene formulation used to manufacture spoons is different from what individual kit manufacturers use to produce their models. You'd obtain more reliable results by spraying either on the parts tree from a specific model kit.

 

Then, there's the question of durability.

Quote

If necessary, the parts painted with GSW must be handled very carefully and handled with gloves. Light fingerprints can be carefully polished away.

Quote

The GSW looks like chrome but it's too good to be true. You just can't touch it...at all.

Quote

the surface is very sensitive. Touching it with your bare hand immediately leaves a mark. If they are not strong, you can carefully polish them away. In addition, the surface is very soft and sensitive to scratches.

As has been pointed out, neither product can withstand any handling without scratching or blemishing the finish. GSW is alcohol-based and Vallejo is a water-based acrylic, nether of which is particularly durable. Also, neither can be clearcoated without a discernible loss in shine and reflectivity. BTW, the Vallejo Model Air dries to a  flat finish and doesn't possess a mirror-like finish or NMF shine to begin with. Check the web for reviews. If anyone expects a chrome paint which has a durable finish with shiny and mirror-like reflectivity, you ain't gonna get it from a $4.00 bottle. You only get what you pay for; and, with GSW & Vallejo, you get what you get. No more, no less.

I've been lit up for mentioning a certain chrome paint containing actual metal particles and can be handled without damaging the finish; so, I won't do it here unless somebody specifically asks me to name it.

[Ace-Garageguy]

1 hour ago, SfanGoch said:

I've been lit up for mentioning a certain chrome paint containing actual metal particles and can be handled without damaging the finish; so, I won't do it here unless somebody specifically asks me to name it.

Interesting that people wouldn't want to know something that actually works...but then again... 

[Mittagskind]

Everybody needs his own little secret.

[Can-Con]

16 hours ago, Ace-Garageguy said:

Interesting that people wouldn't want to know something that actually works...but then again... 

He's talking about me, Bill. 

[peteski]

Since Joe is not going to mention it, I believe he is talking about  https://alsacorp.com/product/easy-chrome/  . Rather pricey, but if it works as a 1:1 car finish, it will be durable on a model.

[Straightliner59]

On 1/27/2024 at 8:40 PM, Ace-Garageguy said:

Interesting that people wouldn't want to know something that actually works...but then again... 

Right?! Then again, I still see guys recommending thread, for plug wires, so, it takes all kinds!

[stitchdup]

i just tried to use my green stuff brush chrome only to find it has gone grey like the molotowe does. its only a couple of months since it was opened. its laying with tiny spots of chrome but mostly grey

[stavanzer]

15 hours ago, stitchdup said:

i just tried to use my green stuff brush chrome only to find it has gone grey like the molotowe does. its only a couple of months since it was opened. its laying with tiny spots of chrome but mostly grey

That's very disappointing.

[gary jackson]

ive had success green stuff   i let it dry for couple weeks before handling   then use cotton gloves for just in case

[TransAmMike]

The comparisons of GSW, Molotow and others are endless.   Is there really a definitive winner?