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Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Pine Beach, NJ
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Fiberglass Helmet Chroming
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Q. How do I go about chroming fiberglass helmets. I want to do this myself so I can custom paint them afterwards. There is a place in Michigan that does it but I would like information on doing it myself.
Thank you for any help you can give me.
Carl A. Armstrong- Kokomo, IN, USA
2001
A. Carl,
To plate a material with chrome, it must have a surface that will conduct electricity. I think this is usually done by initially depositing a layer of electroless nickel on the fiberglass. Electroless nickel uses a chemical activation for the deposition and does not require electricity to plate the nickel. The chrome is electroplated over the nickel substrate.
Chrome plating is not something for the do-it-yourselfer. The chemicals required are toxic (remember Erin Brockovitch) and their use is controlled by the EPA in your country. My advice is if you have found a job shop that can do the work, leave it to the pros.
Don Piett- Thompson, Manitoba, Canada
A. The process you want is not traditional chrome 'dipping', as you would a bumper. It's called 'vacuum metallizing', and there are lots of places around the country that do it.
Good luck,
Anthony Chan- La Mirada, California
A. Hi
Vacuum metallizing is basically a three layer process: a base coat of paint, application of a very thin layer of aluminum in a vacuum chamber, and a final clear coat.
There is a process called "chrome-look paint" (some call it 'spray chroming' but it really has nothing to do with chrome) which is very similar except that the middle layer is a spray application of mirror silvering. Vacuum metallizing is fine for OEMs who are making thousands of helmets, but no shop with an expensive vacuum chamber is going to risk contaminating it from one customer's single helmet -- for onesy-twosy stuff like this chrome-look paint is probably the way to go :-)
adv.
M&M Metalizing Sales [a finishing.com supporting advertiser] or Gold Touch [a finishing.com supporting advertiser] can probably do this for you, or you can probably buy the materials from G.J. Nikolas [a finishing.com supporting advertiser].
Luck & Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
Multiple threads merged: please forgive chronology errors :-)
RFQ: I need someone who can "chrome" a fiberglass helmet.
brad knight- walton Kentucky
2003
Ed. note: Sorry, this RFQ is old & outdated, so contact info is no longer available. However, if you feel that something technical should be said in reply, please post it; no public commercial suggestions please ( huh? why?)
RFQ: Hello,
I looking to have a number a bicycle parts bright chromed. They are of varying materials. Through my preliminary research, I was lead to believe that the electroless process could be applied to many materials. Can a part which is partially carbon fibre and partially aluminum be chromed to a singular bright chromed surface? The other parts are Steel which is of course no problem. Can areas of a part be masked to NOT be chromed? Can anyone in recommend a business in or near Toronto who can do this kind of work?
Thanks,
Cory Lund- Toronto, Ontario, Canada
2003
A. Hi Cory. You can have the steel parts chrome plated, and yes, areas can be masked. But for the aluminum- carbon fiber parts I think you'd be better off with 'chrome look' paint. Plating on aluminum requires specialty pre-plate sequences involving application of zincate. And while electroless plating is possible, carbon fiber is not a great candidate; so trying to plate a composite item of aluminum and carbon fiber is probably something for a NASA project rather than for a consumer with a bicycle :-)
Luck & Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
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