Vac metallized plastic ?

Mr.Spider

Sr Member
Does anyone know of a company that does vac metallized plastics ? i need a piece turned gold but the companies I'm finding all require a bulk order and I only need one done.

Or maybe there is a better process out there now with paint ?
 
I believe there are auto detailing places that can spray chrome and gold chrome. I think you can even do it yourself with products you can buy online but they're super expensive, especially for a 'one-time' thing. The auto detailing places aren't cheap either, but you might be able to get a quote for them if you show them what you're printing. In our city of about a million, and outlying areas, there are only two places that do it. Who knows if they send it out or do it locally.

TazMan2000
 
The folks at Mueller Corp do really good vacuum metalizing. Their main money making is large batches of course, but they do pricing for "prototypes" (aka one-offs). They show a bunch of colors on their website: Vacuum Metalizing & Spray Coating Services | EMI Shielding
I have only tried the silver and gold colors myself, and they look great. We used to use a company in the Los Angeles area, but they were unreliable and inconsistent. I was very happy when I found Mueller. They aren't cheap, but they did good work and were very professional.

Jackie Rhillinger was the customer service person I worked with. She was great. I spoke with Glenn Mueller (the VP) as well - also nice.

It's a good idea to talk to them about properly prepping your piece too. Oils, solvents and pinholes can all adversely affect the finish. They turned me on to using a final primer/sealer coat of paint, instead of just a primer. It helps to get rid of fish-eyes and other flaws.
 
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