Liquid chrome marker for repairing chromed Lego pieces?

[johnnytifosi]

Hello everybody,

I just got my holy grail 5571 Giant Truck, after searching for a good deal for years. I found one in a reasonable price, and despite missing a few pieces, surprisingly all the chrome parts are there but most are badly worn. Still wanting to keep the whole thing as low cost as possible, I don't want to get new expensive chrome parts from Bricklink, but repair the existing ones. I found out that there are "liquid chrome" coloured markers, which produce a reasonable result, but apparently they wear out easily too. I've seen recommendations elsewhere about using primer or clear coat, but I am not sure what they are or how to apply them. Has anyone experience on this and any recommendations how to proceed to achieve a shinier or more long lasting result? Reminder that I want to keep this as cheap as possible, I am not willing to get specialized equipment to repaint a few pieces.

Some examples of applications I found on Lego are below:

https://old.reddit.com/r/lego/comments/qdfer5/ruined_my_old_5541_hotrod_with_some_liquid_chrome/

https://old.reddit.com/r/lego/comments/15fl6fk/chrome_pens_work_pretty_well/

https://old.reddit.com/r/lego/comments/yfqh2e/how_could_i_not_want_to_chrome_them/

 

Cheers.

Edited September 6, 2024 by johnnytifosi

[JesseNight]

Congrats with finding your holy grail, it's a beautiful model for sure!
My own experience with cheap solutions is that it generally works... as long as it's a display model that's not being exposed to the wear of play, or extreme temperatures.
I think there are more possibilities between super cheap and specialized equipment, that might be more durable (but I'm no expert on this).

[FGMatt]

If you want a more permanent fix, would lacquering afterwards work? There might be a tolerance issue if the coat ends up too thick, I suppose.

[MAB]

For your own use, you can do what you like so long as you don't sell them as genuine parts in the future. 

I've successfully done a chrome job on lego parts using an airbrush.  Clean the part really well removing the old chrome if there is some, then airbrush an acetone and water mix and let dry. Then a couple of coats of dilute primer (25% water ), then 3-4 coats of dilute metallic paint. It works well for minifig accessories where they are not going to scratch against other parts but wouldn't work well for brick surfaces where the parts will scratch easily when placed together.

Edited September 18, 2024 by MAB

[Lego Tom]

Model builders use a product called Metal Foil. It comes in different tints, including chrome, aluminum, black, copper and gold. Depending on what you need to coat, it might be worth looking into. It is self adhesive.

https://www.bare-metal.com/bare-metal-foil.html

[johnnytifosi]

I got a liquid chrome marker from Aliexpress and set out to paint some pieces. Overall, the results were pretty decent for what is a very basic procedure. Most of the chrome pieces of my set were badly worn and I painted over most of them, including cylindrical bricks, headlights and antennas. A couple from the exhaust stack pieces were missing, so instead of buying new pieces for 3 euro each,  I replaced them with the much cheaper Technic connectors 75535  and 25214 which happen to have the same dimensions and are much sturdier when connected with Technic pins. In the pic below you can see left to right: 1. Painted Technic connectors, 2. original chrome pieces in good condition mounted in my 5541 set, 3. repainted worn chrome pieces. I think the result on the Technic connectors exceeded my expectations. It is certainly not as reflective as the original chrome, but it is great for 10 cents worth of pieces and a 2 euro marker. The repainted chrome pieces do look a bit rougher in my opinion. They felt smooth to the hand before painting, but the ink may be exaggerating the imperfections of the surface. In both cases, they look way better than the worn pieces.

Another photo (Technic connectors to the left, repainted chrome bricks to the right):

The ink does need about a day to fully cure, and it is a bit sensitive to wear if you rub it with force. I will experiment a bit further the next days, trying a second coat of paint and/or a coat of clear nail polish to see if I can achieve a shinier or more durable result.

@Lego Tom interesting product but as you can see I just went on with the marker. Also I am not sure how do you apply this material on uneven surfaces like Lego bricks?

Edited September 19, 2024 by johnnytifosi

[Autumn]

That's quite impressive actually. In the first picture, the piece on the bottom right looks a bit scuffed compared to the others. Is that because it's a worn original chrome piece, or is it because of how the chrome marker was applied?

[johnnytifosi]

@Autumn   it is a worn chrome piece. It felt smooth to the touch but after painting it has produced this weird effect. It definitely doesn't look that bad from afar.

Edited September 19, 2024 by johnnytifosi

[MAB]

They look really quite good but a second coat might make them better. That is definitely a more chrome like finish than you get with airbrushed acrylic. When I do that, the effect is more like the (BL's name) metallic silver and gold finishes whereas that chrome looks much more mirror like. I might get one of those pens too now.

[johnnytifosi]

Second update: I applied clear nail polish to a painted piece and it ruined the ink. I had to use acetone to remove it, which removed not only the ink but also the original chrome, leaving the bare plastic piece. Then repainting the bare piece resulted in a better result than before, because the piece was smoother without the flaking chrome it originally had. So it may be a radical approach, but removing the worn chrome altogether and painting over the piece from scratch will give a better result.