"Removing black tint" from chrome from Hilux parts

[Old_Busted_Hotness]

The new Lux is flat-out gorgeous, but why black chrome on all the parts that should be bright chrome? The headlight buckets and mirrors bug me in particular, but the bumpers look wrong, too.

So, I decided to fix it.

First, I attacked some black-chrome sprue with various agents, looking for something that would kill the black but leave the chrome.

Oven cleaner: no go until I hit it with steel wool. Too risky, easy to go all the way through. Rejected. This would probably work to remove the chrome altogether, and left it on longer. I didn't try it for that.
Lacquer thinner: Rejected out of hand. I know it'll kill the plastic.
Turpentine: polishes the chrome but has no effect otherwise. Rejected.

Get-Off sticker-goo remover: quite successful! When sprayed on a clean rag and gently (key word here) rubbed on the parts, the black coating fades away, leaving the shiny chrome behind. Care must be taken on the edges of the bumpers, as it's too easy to go all the way through the chrome down to the black. The headlight buckets in particular came out very nice, and look much better now.

Sorry I packed my camera away for a trip (leaving in the morning) but I'll share when I get home.

[Suprachrgd82]

The new Lux is flat-out gorgeous, but why black chrome on all the parts that should be bright chrome? The headlight buckets and mirrors bug me in particular, but the bumpers look wrong, too.

So, I decided to fix it.

First, I attacked some black-chrome sprue with various agents, looking for something that would kill the black but leave the chrome.

Oven cleaner: no go until I hit it with steel wool. Too risky, easy to go all the way through. Rejected. This would probably work to remove the chrome altogether, and left it on longer. I didn't try it for that.
Lacquer thinner: Rejected out of hand. I know it'll kill the plastic.
Turpentine: polishes the chrome but has no effect otherwise. Rejected.

Get-Off sticker-goo remover: quite successful! When sprayed on a clean rag and gently (key word here) rubbed on the parts, the black coating fades away, leaving the shiny chrome behind. Care must be taken on the edges of the bumpers, as it's too easy to go all the way through the chrome down to the black. The headlight buckets in particular came out very nice, and look much better now.

Sorry I packed my camera away for a trip (leaving in the morning) but I'll share when I get home.


(Supra recognizes Busty as Stu.)

Lacquer Thinner is out. I tried last night, and it will quickly remove the chrome as well as the black. Hand cleaner is a no go as well. So is Goo Gone. Now to get some mineral spirits....

Some one ask Larrio what that black junk is!

[DREADY]

I dont know if you guys can get this in the states

Fairy Powerspray it's a mild oven cleaner takes paint of a treat but quite slowly if that makes sense.
345

Might be some use i'd test a small area first mind.

[ROBSRYD]

Try brake fluid. let it sit for a minute or so then try to remove your black chrome. This trick works great for removing paint on any surface including plastic.

[Larrio]

Black junk? haha, I have no idea.

I will inquire with the higher ups later today.

[Larrio]

The modelers here at work tell me that:

(1) strip off the old stuff (brake fluid, oven clean, castrol super clean, etc)
(2) clean, dry, and spray with black paint or primer (or primer and then black paint)
(3) apply Alclad 2 for the most awesome chrome effect
http://www.alclad2.com/alclad-home.html
(4) clearcoat or sealant afterwards (although Alclad claims that no sealant is required)

Many actually prefer/like the black chrome so it's easier to provide it than to have others add it on later. Whereas there are many alternatives to adding chrome to existing parts.

NOTE: The Castrol Super Clean will remove EVERYTHING.

[Mouton]

Great advice, Larrio!

I can add that Mr. Muscle Oven Cleaner is also excellent for removing chrome/paint from plastic (not lexan). That is what most IPMS (http://www.ipmsusa.org/) members swear by when removing chrome/paint.

[mcovalsk]

The modelers here at work tell me that:

(1) strip off the old stuff (brake fluid, oven clean, castrol super clean, etc)
(2) clean, dry, and spray with black paint or primer (or primer and then black paint)
(3) apply Alclad 2 for the most awesome chrome effect
http://www.alclad2.com/alclad-home.html
(4) clearcoat or sealant afterwards (although Alclad claims that no sealant is required)

Many actually prefer/like the black chrome so it's easier to provide it than to have others add it on later. Whereas there are many alternatives to adding chrome to existing parts.

NOTE: The Castrol Super Clean will remove EVERYTHING.


I'm working with Alclad since the very beggining. Chromed can't be used with any sealant will turn opaque.

[Old_Busted_Hotness]

I'm a little miffed that I have to re-do the chrome in a $370 kit. Tamiya's chrome is so amazingly perfect that there's no way I could get near the finish with Alclad (and I too have used it for years, so I know what I'm doing with the stuff).

The elbow-grease method is pretty effective, though. Here are my headlight buckets after rubbing with Get Off:

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m160/goatworks/IMG_1891.jpg

The front bumper didn't fare so well. The sharp edges went down to the black base color. Don't know if I'll touch 'em up or strip down.

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m160/goatworks/IMG_1892.jpg

While a black bumper is certainly more abusable, I had an easy life planned for this one. Maybe I'll have to order another bumper set and try again.

[Larrio]

It will be hard to do the edges since it will naturally have a thinner coating than other areas.

It's not that a $370 dollar kit requires the buyer to re-chrome because other people that prefer or like the new dark chrome will see it as a nice touch to the same $370 dollar kit. Of course everyone that wants a different color than what was included will have to re-do, re-touch, or modify on their own.

[janderson]

:sorry: I like the black chrome on this truck! I guess we could save money and leave all chrome off and you could paint it whatever color you wanted? But I'd rather have the back chrome, it adds class IMO... :first:

[monster_beetle]

I have to say that I also love the black chrome :)

[Old_Busted_Hotness]

:sorry: but I have to disagree. Particularly where it applies to light buckets. The lamps appear burned-out when black chrome is used on the reflectors, or even worse: looks like 1980's tinted lens covers!

Below are the buckets with the black tint removed.

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m160/goatworks/IMG_1891.jpg

It's not that hard to remove, but it's a whole lot easier to spray X-19 Smoke over plain chrome if you really like the look.

I'll bet this is exactly what they said about the Monster Beetle's gold wheels, huh? :Good Point:

[McFig]

I really like the black chrome on the rims, but thats about it. The light buckets on the other hand...it doesn't make much scense to tint those. Maybe it was cheaper to just do all the plastic that way. I don't know. In any case, I hope to get one of these and I will for sure leave the rims alone.

[Old_Busted_Hotness]

I gave up on trying to re-touch the thinned areas of the parts I cleaned off, so I put 'em in a box and sent them off to Chrome-Tech along with a check for sixty bucks.

In 4 to 6 weeks you'll see what the chrome should have looked like. [/rant]

[william]

well Stu at least those guys do awesome work :LOL:
but I agree it's much easier to get the black/chrome look than do away with it

[Old_Busted_Hotness]

Got my chrome back today, and that's the end of the Big Kahuna project! :Tamiya1:

[Arcocustom]

Try using regular turtle wax on a clean cotton rag. The process may be slower but it is sure to be milder than lacquer thinner or brake fluid.




The new Lux is flat-out gorgeous, but why black chrome on all the parts that should be bright chrome? The headlight buckets and mirrors bug me in particular, but the bumpers look wrong, too.

So, I decided to fix it.

First, I attacked some black-chrome sprue with various agents, looking for something that would kill the black but leave the chrome.

Oven cleaner: no go until I hit it with steel wool. Too risky, easy to go all the way through. Rejected. This would probably work to remove the chrome altogether, and left it on longer. I didn't try it for that.
Lacquer thinner: Rejected out of hand. I know it'll kill the plastic.
Turpentine: polishes the chrome but has no effect otherwise. Rejected.

Get-Off sticker-goo remover: quite successful! When sprayed on a clean rag and gently (key word here) rubbed on the parts, the black coating fades away, leaving the shiny chrome behind. Care must be taken on the edges of the bumpers, as it's too easy to go all the way through the chrome down to the black. The headlight buckets in particular came out very nice, and look much better now.

Sorry I packed my camera away for a trip (leaving in the morning) but I'll share when I get home.

[pagedm_f350]

I posted this on another forum relating to getting the red of the chrome TLT Rock Buster wheels, you may want to test this with your black chrome parts on the Hilux, sorry if it is a bit long winded:


So... I decided to test a few chemicals to see if I could strip the red while leaving the chrome intact and still shiny. The idea was that I would test the chemicals on the parts tree pieces in between the wheels, that would tell me if the red would come off and if the chrome would be damaged. Here is the process and chemicals I used, with a video to prove how unbelievably easy it was to do:

Acetone is the solvent I used, just plain 100% by volume Acetone. I do lots of fibreglassing so I knew how good that stuff was so thats what I tried. Acetone is available from most major hardware stores or fibreglassing supplies. Make sure the label says 100% by volume, no other additives.

OK,
1. Use a glass container, fill about half way.
2. Hold a wheel with a pair of pliers
3. Dip the wheel in about 3 times
4. Shake off the access acetone
5. Let dry, acetone evapourates extremely quickly.
6. I found that once the wheel dries it goes frosty, this seems to be from the moisture in the air and the rapid evapouration of the acetone, don't stress, let the wheel sit for a minute and simply polish the wheel with a soft clean cloth, polish lightly. and your done! .... easy huh!

A couple of warnings:

Once you have dipped it a few times and let it dry, DON'T go back in, the chrome can't take another bath in the acetone.

Dump the acetone for a new clean amount for each wheel, otherwise you will be left with a pink wheel by the time you get to the 4th wheel.

And finally, this is how I did it, I cannot guarantee you will achieve the same results I did. Do your own tests on the parts tree pieces that the new wheels were attached to.

I figured I hated the red wheels, so either the red would be stripped off, or they would be painted black or something, I had nothing to lose by trying...

Again, I don't know for sure if this will work for the black chrome on the hilux, i guess it depends on if the black effect is from them clear coating over the plain chrome like the red wheels, or if the chrome itself is the difference.

Good luck! :Tamiya1:

http://www.users.on.net/~pagedm/forum_pics/tlt_1.jpg

http://www.users.on.net/~pagedm/forum_pics/tlt_2.jpg

I also have a video posted on YouTube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXSxeR9UheE