Another chrome in a can update
 

After some research I decided to try some chrome paint on my 70 Peugeot PX10. I decided to use **** Stix Mirror Chrome because it got the best reviews of the various chrome in a can products. I believe it was a qualified success. And most of the qualification comes from the fact that I did not do the prep perfectly. **** Stix is supposed to work best if applied to a very glossy black undercoat. My bike had a black paint job but it was not perfect and not as shiny as it could have been. I should have applied a new undercoat. Even so I think it turned out alright and in the places where I did have a very glossy black finish I think it really does look like decent chrome. The rear triangle ended up looking better than the fork because it had a glossier finish. I finished it off with the special clearcoat they sell. Here are some pics.

Before:

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-A...0/DSC00398.jpg

After:

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-N...0/DSC01520.jpg

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-c...0/DSC01523.jpg

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-5...0/DSC01522.jpg

OK evidently the name of this product contains a banned word. Lets try putting some spaces in: S p a z Stix.

Looks great, man. Especially for a rattly can chrome job!

Very nice.... Now for some red cable housings.

Dang, that looks unbelievably good!

I have no idea how durable it is going to be but I do think it looks pretty good. The fork is kind of dull but that is because the paint under it was kind of dull. I wish now I had spent more time and effort on the prep but I can always strip it off the fork and try again if I decide to do it better. I really think that with a proper undercoat it would be pretty indistinguishable from chrome, until it got scratched that is :)

can you polish/buff the chrome paint to get more shine? i know it isn't real chrome, but any rattlecan paint i rubbed out with rubbing/polishing compound made a huge difference.

I don't think so. First off I clear coated it already so that kind of precludes buffing the chrome paint itself :( But even if I hadn't I don't think it would work. I believe the chrome like effect occurs because of special properties of the paint itself.

That looks good to me, and it is certainly a lot cheaper than rechroming. Where I live, 1 km downwind of the ocean, real chrome does not last very long, anyway.

Pretty cool.
 

I'll remember that. Well done, and thanks for sharing.

Hmm, seems like the alchemist formula to transmute U-O8s into PX-10s :lol:

What happened to the original chrome ends?

Well, that's shocking. Maybe I'll try some out. How much did the can cost you?

Looks great BD63. Any chance of a close up of the rear stays? Got to say, I think the all black looked very nice itself but this is cool.

They were painted over when the frame was redone by some previous owner. Guy who sold it to me thought it was an Italian frame (he didn't know much but it had a full Campy SR group on it). The unknown previous owner had shifter bosses, cable guides (top tube and top of BB) and bottle cage mounts added, had the derailleur hanger tapped for Campy and had the whole frame painted black. I assume the chrome was badly messed up. Its definitely a Peugeot (riveted on serial number plate, metric Reynolds tubing, Simplex dropouts). And it has Nervex Pro lugs and fork crown. Could be one of the other Peugeots with with Nervex Pro lugs but I think it is a PX 10.

Tapped for Campy sounds like a definite upgrade. You've brought it back to life nicely.

I liked the all black too but I wanted something a bit more authentic PX10 looking. Plus I really wanted to try out the spray on chrome. I haven't had any luck selling this bike for what I have in it since it isn't an original or authentic PX 10 and since I had already taken such "artistic license" with it I decide to go for it. I had also thought of putting white "socks" on it to match the lugs but thought that would be a bit garish. I think I can fairly easily remove it if it proves to be totally fragile but we will see.

Close up of rear stays:

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-X...0/DSC01521.jpg

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-C...0/DSC01523.jpg

Nice pics! I like the chrome look, too.....and that stuff in a can is unique.

I think it cost about $14 8oz can on Amazon. S p a z Stix Mirror Chrome. I read a couple of reviews online that compared a number of aerosol "chrome" products and this one came out on top. It is primarily aimed at model builders and RC enthusiasts and mostly seems designed for application on plastic but it seems to work just fine on metal. Like I said we will see if it lasts at all but it wasn't obviously fragile even after only a couple of hours of drying. I will take some real closeups of the areas where I had a real smooth, shiny black base coat tomorrow. I think it really looks like chrome.

Taking notes - Looks great!!!

If the wheel locknuts didn't dig into it too badly, It'll probably hold up better than paint.

I really liked the "before" shot. Lately I've been contemplating a high-end bike without chrome.

... or black.