See-Through Chrome?

[Neon Sentry]

Hijack as you please, multiple threads just muddies up the forums

It's just occuring to me now all of the things that could be done with a translucent chrome. Why has this not come up more often?

Maybe I can convince my 6'4" friend to be Destro this Halloween. This chroming stuff'll come in handy then as well

 

[thorssoli]

I'm still thinking you'd be best off making that particular visor in two pieces, one for looking through and one for details.

The idea of painting the inside of the face shield would work out pretty well.

If you're willing to experiment a little bit, get a cheap protective face mask from a hardware store and some chrome spraypaint. Then start dusting a little bit of chrome paint on the inside. Make the lightest coat you can and see if you can still see through it when it dries. Continue adding a little bit more chrome until the outside looks like you want it to and stop before you can't see through it anymore.

Vacuum metalizing something like this is going to be just about the most expensive option available. If that's not a problem, go for it.

If you are determined to sculpt your own faceplate, what do you plan to make it out of?

 

[Neon Sentry]

I already tried dusting the chrome spray... the see through bits were splotchy and looked really bad. The moment the finish looked decent it was too thick to see through. I don't know if it's just the brand, but it doesn't mist well

I'm going to try the window tinting next on some plastic, with the raised details being painted and added seperately. If I can actually get out of the house I'm actually going to try that later today

I would do my own faceplate sculpt, but I don't know if I'd want to deal with the trials of casting with a transparent material, so I'll probably end up with just the jaw ribbing being the only sculpted piece on the mirrored areas

If this ends up going well, would there be any interest in a few of these, to help me recoup costs for the rest of the costume?

 

[Phayze]

Originally posted by Phayze+Feb 15 2006, 12:14 PM--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Phayze @ Feb 15 2006, 12:14 PM)</div>

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@Feb 14 2006, 11:38 PM
Go with the window tinting.

Hose it down with Windex and flatten it out with a credit card.  Take it nice and slow to work out all the air bubbles.

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Not really trying to thread-jack, but with regard to this automotive window-tinting I was wondering about how one would best apply it to a pair of flat lenses (probably plexi-glass) - would it be better to apply the tinting to the sheet of plexi and then cut out the lenses, or should I cut the lenses, apply a slightly over-sized piece of tinting and then trim the excess?

Also, has anyone ever seen white window tinting? Autozone didn't have it on their site, so I'm doubtful, but it would look pretty sweet for what I'm planning.

lots of cool stuff in this thread. Thanks.

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I'm just quoting my question from earlier because I thought it might have been missed, being the last comment on the previous page and all.

Any advice on this? I'm leaning toward cutting out the shapes first, because I'd be afraid of damaging the tint if I did it the other way.

 

[etheren]

Have you thought of using heat-resistant face shielding?

It might not be the exact shape you want, but I would imagine that you could at least trim it down.

- Jason

 

[gonk27]

If you have vac forming experience this may be another option..


There's a very cool plastic, I think it's a form of ABS (not sure) that comes already manufactured with a chrome finish; silver on one side gold on the other.

Maybe you could make a model of your visor then cast it in something solid such as resin or plaster to make your vac-form mould and vac over it with this plastic (chrome finish on the outside). It's quite easy to see through if you hold it up to your face and shield the light away from your eyes.

I always thought LFL could have made 3PO faces this way to give Anthony Daniels more visibility but the finish is not as nice as vac-plating.


By the way, some boxes of chocolates use this plastic for the 'compartments' the chocolates inside sit in.


Jeremy

 

[Neon Sentry]

I have considered vac-molding with something similar, but I think I have an idea as to how to build the piece now. I went out and grabbed some stuff for this, but I've yet to purchase the mirrored tint... that's on my list for today

And as far as the heat shield is concerned, it's the same problem I've encountered when thinking about the full face motorcycle lens'... they're too wide, and wouldn't be able to dip into the dome without having to make the dome extra big (think more of Dark Helmet )