http://i1151.photobucket.com/albums/o62 ... _04692.jpgThe above link is to a photo of what I have been able to do so far with chrome paint. I do not promise that it will work underwater, but I do promise that I have tried many time to get it right. I also do not yet have the "clear coat" mastered.
I have found that you should have as much of a gloss black base coat as you can, and as smooth as possible.
I have found that Krylon Fusion does not give me a smooth, or a high gloss, coat on many plastics, but it adheres very well to plastics. Nevertheless, it pairs well with Krylon Metallic when used as a base. The use of Krylon Metallic, with the Chrome lid, seems to work very well. My wife considers this the best result.
I have found that Rustoleum Gloss Black yields the most smooth and the most gloss of the base coats I used. This base yields the best results for Alcad 2 Chrome (Lacquer Airbrush paint), and I find this to be the best result. I also find that Alcad 2 without a Black base coat works very well, as long as it is painted on a smooth plastic. Still, I find that Rustoleum Gloss Black is not as resistant to other paints eating through it. Spray light coats and more of them.
I have tried many options, taken pictures and given results on most of it, and I show it in the links below if you want to follow them. Enter the web site and look at the album and sub albums called "Chrome studies for lures".
http://s1151.photobucket.com/user/aka-a ... t=3&page=1What I can tell you is that it is a Lacquer or enamel paint. It is as resistant to scratches and teeth as a paint can be. It is NOT as good as a clear coated lure, but my first test with a clear coat were not promising. I will not give up but ............
I can tell you that chrome is difficult to achieve. I looked into a company that uses the new applications where you apply a sensitizing solution, a silvering solution, and a clear coat. Brands like HydroMist, Spectra Chrome, Reprochrome, etc., come to mind. You can find them on YouTube and even Jay Leno showed one of them. The results are and were incredible, but the process is expensive for the small guy to do. I know, it is at least too expensive for me. Nevertheless, I got an interesting response from one of them.....
"This process is UV resistant, we have UV inhibitors in the clear coat. All the rules apply to regular painting. With this process you are putting a real layer of silver in between two layers of paint. The color of chrome is in the clear coat. There is a 200 degree heat tolerance, so it is not meant for an exhaust or engine block. This process is as durable as a painted finish on a car."
Sooo, "the color of chrome is in the clear coat" and "is as durable as a painted finish on a car".
I have tested several of my commercial lures, purchased as chrome, and they are no more durable then the chrome paint used above. There is a way to actually use chrome to plate plastic, but I can only test so many things at a time.
More will follow, in time, if I come up with more results. But for now........ well look how long it took to get back to everyone on this one.