Classic & Vintage - alternatives to "chrome paint" to refinish a modern carbon/plastic bike?

i know this is the retro forum, but guys here are pretty savvy so it's a good place to ask these sorts of far-out questions.


i'm noodling on getting a carbon bike refinished and doing the stays up in a chrome-looking finish. i'm looking for alternatives and ideally someone that would be able to apply the finish.

i've heard of some stuff by alsa called "mirra-chrome"...in the car world, it's widely used. but i've talked to several bike refinishing shops and a few have tried it, the material is very expensive and very demanding to apply. thus nobody seems to offer it as a refinishing option. i check with both ronnie lyndsey and cycle-art and neither offer it.

so i'm stymied.

anyone know of something that looks like chrome that can be applied like paint but isnt so demanding to work with as mirra-chrome?

http://www.acuraintegra.org/chromebmw7.jpg
http://alsacorp.com/products/mirrachrome/showcase/DSC07687L.jpg

they sell chrome spray paint at home depot for cheap. you can buy a can and try it out on something as a test and see how it goes. it's probably not the answer you're looking for, but it might be worth giving it a shot considering the alternative.

they sell chrome spray paint at home depot for cheap. you can buy a can and try it out on something as a test and see how it goes.

Trust me, it looks like glorified silver paint.

Have you looked into authorized paintshops using Alsa's mirra-chrome?

-Kurt

Trust me, it looks like glorified silver paint.Some of it looks like chrome until you touch it, then it looks like gray paint.

How about electroless nickel? They used it to color plastic pieces chrome for the automotive industry. I don't have any idea whether it's available to hobbyists.

The guy who painted one of my bikes uses the mirra-chrome all the time on custom motorcycle frames, etc. He'd painted stays and forks with it on bicycles, too. It absolutely has to have a smooth surface, but looks amazing. I sort of wanted him to do a helmet for me....

His name is Porkchop, and I think he's on line...

http://www.porkchopcustoms.com/

Pork Chopper's Custom Paint Shack call (252) 670-8948

OR EMAL US AT porkchoppers01@yahoo.com

I have also been looking into a chrome finish for my lugs... thanks for the contact, i am going to look him up when i finally get my frame ready for painting.