New idea for chroming.

bobbyt

New Member
Guys and gals, I have a great new idea for chroming our pieces. My wife works in acrylic nails. She just got some metallic paint that is ridiculous. I am going to post some of the results soon. I am blown away. She is getting a metallic affect from one application. 14908989442702063517245.jpg1490899097526-368884771.jpg
 
Last edited:
I find this method she uses incredibly effective for creating a metallic finish in controlled settings. Under uv light, it has less effect. I will help you guys more on the process if you would like to try it. It is extremely cheap, and a great way to build certain items, like Aliens.
 
Depends what you mean exactly. Metallic effect and chrome are two different things. Chrome like mirror chrome? Alclad 2 over gloss black is the only closest paint method to actual chrome plating that I've seen and is the defacto method in the industry.
 
Alumaluster is what I see most commonly used in the film industry, not Alclad.
As a hobby paint? Spaz Stix has Alclad beat as well.

Depends what you mean exactly. Metallic effect and chrome are two different things. Chrome like mirror chrome? Alclad 2 over gloss black is the only closest paint method to actual chrome plating that I've seen and is the defacto method in the industry.
 
Really? Haven't heard of those. They used alclad on the Terminator endo skeletons. I have the video that's shows how they did the different looks. Looked good to me.
 
Do you have a link to that video?

Which Terminator are we talking? Legacy did Genisys and that was all alumaluster or other Imperial Products I believe. Legacy is one of the biggest users of Imperial paint, I can't imagine them using Alclad.
Really? Haven't heard of those. They used alclad on the Terminator endo skeletons. I have the video that's shows how they did the different looks. Looked good to me.
 
Do you have a link to that video?

Which Terminator are we talking? Legacy did Genisys and that was all alumaluster or other Imperial Products I believe. Legacy is one of the biggest users of Imperial paint, I can't imagine them using Alclad.

It was SW School Of Charactor Arts tutorial that I purchased on painting metallic techniques. The examples were T3 and Salvation. I can't remember the guy's name. He took you through all the paints from Alclad to cheap spray paints for the home hobbyist. But Alclad was the one he said they used. The Terminator skulls he used looked fantastic and film ready in Alclad. I'm no expert and you know better than me but I assumed that's what they used all the time. He didn't use or mention any other Pro paints.
 
Malibu, T2 endo's were plated as far as I'm aware.

Pred, you could be totally right, I'm not sure what was used on T3 or Salvation. I'd have to ask. Just saying that for the last ten years or so the bigger companies have been running Imperial paints. I'd guess Salvation was Imperial but I'll ask. You can see it in the Genesys making of, and Jamie actually uses it in the newer metal painting tutorial on the Pred helmet. At one point Alclad may have certainly been the go-to but those days have passed for most shops. Legacy, Alliance, Ironhead, Creative Character Engineering I know have all been using IST, and many many more. As for the why.. it's all about durability, and the fact Imperial sells a product to make a flexible chrome.



Sorry to go so far off topic! As for the nails, Alclad sells a paint with a similar effect called Holomatic Spectral Chrome. It gives that rainbowy look. I'm not sure what I'd use it on but I'm definitely interested in knowing more about it!

It was SW School Of Charactor Arts tutorial that I purchased on painting metallic techniques. The examples were T3 and Salvation. I can't remember the guy's name. He took you through all the paints from Alclad to cheap spray paints for the home hobbyist. But Alclad was the one he said they used. The Terminator skulls he used looked fantastic and film ready in Alclad. I'm no expert and you know better than me but I assumed that's what they used all the time. He didn't use or mention any other Pro paints.
 
Rob Ramsdell. Link: https://www.stanwinstonschool.com/t...utorial-metallic-painting-stan-winston-school
T1/T2 used actual plating. T3 and Salvation used paint, like Alclad.

How is it "chroming" if it isn't chrome, or even chrome-like?

http://www.therpf.com/showthread.php?t=272691 - CHROME pen

I take your point, however I wouldn't want to do a large piece with a pen :)

It's good to know there are others out there. I plan on a 1984 T1 Arnie for my next project. Sorry I thought alclad was king.
 
I take your point, however I wouldn't want to do a large piece with a pen :)

It's good to know there are others out there. I plan on a 1984 T1 Arnie for my next project. Sorry I thought alclad was king.

There's a spray can version, also if you check the thread, people have poured the pen contents directly into an airbrushed and used it as a chrome paint, which apparently is better than Alclad's chrome.

I'd say the real king is still actual plating.
 
If anyone is curious, I asked my buddy John who painted the endos for Salvation. They used Alumaluster.. Shrapnel for the T-600. He also confirmed that they used Alumaluster for Genesys.

I have a mild obsession with chrome paints, obviously, and the whole point of the paints are to avoid the need to plate. On film, they look very very similar. If it didn't, they wouldn't be using it.
 
A lot of people confuse chrome plating with vacuum metalizing too. T1 and T2 used vacuum metalizing which is very different to chrome plating. Metalizing is one coat and very brittle and can be rubbed off very easy with fingers and finger nails. It's not a perfect chrome like triple chrome plating.


Ben
 
T1 and T2 used vacuum metalizing which is very different to chrome plating.

T1 was vaccum metalized, while T2 was actually plated.

A quote from Shane Mahan, that can be found in The Winston Effect:

"The first Terminator robot was made of a plastic material, like a lens cap that might have the look of chrome but is really plastic, We'd run the robot pieces through an electrostatic process to apply a metallic finish; but in shooting the first Terminator, we'd found that it chipped very easily. That was a heavy action film -- as this one would be -- and we were constantly bashing that thing through walls. So, by the end of shooting Terminator, the endoskeleton puppets were literally patched together with paint and tin foil. ...By the time we got to Terminator 2, we used an actual chroming process for making the endoskeleton.
 
T1 was vaccum metalized, while T2 was actually plated.

A quote from Shane Mahan, that can be found in The Winston Effect:

"The first Terminator robot was made of a plastic material, like a lens cap that might have the look of chrome but is really plastic, We'd run the robot pieces through an electrostatic process to apply a metallic finish; but in shooting the first Terminator, we'd found that it chipped very easily. That was a heavy action film -- as this one would be -- and we were constantly bashing that thing through walls. So, by the end of shooting Terminator, the endoskeleton puppets were literally patched together with paint and tin foil. ...By the time we got to Terminator 2, we used an actual chroming process for making the endoskeleton.


Hmmm maybe your right. I've always heard T2 was the same and the surviving endos sure point to it. The following is a T2 endo (even though it has T1 shins.) first pic during filming and second pic nowadays. It exhibits vacuum metalizing aged characteristics. I have many close up shots of the plating rubbing off or chipping and fading. The third pic is a T2 hip that shows similar signs. Also they were actively vacuum metalizing all the T1000 bullet hits and other props.

IMG_3230.JPG


IMG_0327.JPG
 

Attachments

  • IMG_3374.GIF
    IMG_3374.GIF
    113.7 KB · Views: 129
@gizmo Unfortunately I wasn't there when they were making either film... though I seriously wish I was! Working FX back in those days must have been an amazing experience.

I can only go off of what I have been told and what the people who made the film have said. As far as I know about the process, the pieces were painted with a copper heavy paint and then electroplated. There are a few steps in between there, but essentially they were plated. Shane Mahan's quote also points to this. Adam Savage actually claims in his T-800 video that his replica was plated at the same shop that plated originals... the evidence towards plating, at the very least in T2's case, is quite solid to me just given the fact that everyone who worked on it refers to it as plated and being a "different" process than what was used on T1.

The T-1000 pieces and bullet hits that were vac metalized were rubber. You can't plate rubber, as it would crack and fall right off.. and back then they didn't have Imperiflex. ;) It's no surprise that they would plate the T-800s and vac metalized other pieces.



Honestly it's not like it really matters. I don't intend to vac metalized or plate anything anytime soon. I like my Alumaluster.. Legacy FX does too. ;)
 
Last edited:
Honestly it's not like it really matters. I don't intend to vac metalized or plate anything anytime soon. I like my Alumaluster.. Legacy FX does too. ;)

Nah of course it doesn't matter. Your most likely right and I'm happy to learn more. That's why I love this place. ;)I'm building a LifeSize endo at the moment so please tell me more about this Alumaluster. How durable is it? I was always going to go with Alclad but I'm happy to experiment with other options. As soon as you mentioned more durable my ears pricked up as that is something Alclad is not. Unless you clear coat it, but that is hit and miss. More miss by most people.

Ben
 
This thread is more than 6 years old.

Your message may be considered spam for the following reasons:

  1. This thread hasn't been active in some time. A new post in this thread might not contribute constructively to this discussion after so long.
If you wish to reply despite these issues, check the box below before replying.
Be aware that malicious compliance may result in more severe penalties.
Back
Top