Interior Plastic Chrome Paint?

[Sheba65]

Has anyone found a plastic paint to match up the silver on the plastic interior in our Reatta's. My 90 Coupe has several areas where the silver has either faded or came off and is now black or discolored. I know the old time model paint like Aurora has come a long way in getting it bright and now dull. Any ideas??

[Guest RaverReatta]

[h=1]Krylon 8 Oz Original Chrome Premium Metallic Spray Paint 1010 [/h]

This might work for you? Might take some removal, or insane amounts of taping-off though.

I would just sand off the original paint and replace it with a new coat if it is worn.

Edited March 8, 2013 by RaverReatta (see edit history)

[Sheba65]

It would be better to brush it on if they have a non spray or just spray the brush and put it on.

[Guest RaverReatta]

I'm not sure on brushing, touching it up could be hard to match considering the age. I'll look some stuff up and post what I find. (:

[Guest RaverReatta]

Most everything I am finding is either spray on, chrome plating, or "metallic" brush on paint. Not really looking like much to use. I went through about 40 pages.

Anyway though, I have some chrome parts in my Reatta that I took the interior out of. I don't know if they are in better shape, but if you would like to see a picture of them and they are, then I could trade you mine for yours. I have a 90 coupe as well.

Edited March 8, 2013 by RaverReatta (see edit history)

[KDirk]

Alsa makes a product called "killer cans" and it is apparently a metal deposition type setup in a rattle can. I haven't used it, but their website makes it look pretty good. I've been tempted to get some and try in in my 91, but have more pressing matters to attend to on that car before I worry about the chrome strip around the IPC bezel. Maybe sometime later this year after I fix the A/C (again) and the rear suspension.

This would, as with any spray product, require precise masking. You do not want to separate the chrome piece from the main bezel as these were melted together when manufactured. Since the pieces are ABS plastic, they will not glue back together (well) and will end up coming apart again if you ever have to snap out the bezel again from some reason.

KDirk

[Finfan1]

I'm in the process of painting the faded silver with black plastic dip. I was going to try using a small foam brush on the trim I can't get out of the car.

[Guest RaverReatta]

I've used Plasti-dip a lot! I use the spray cans, and even if you get overspray on things it will peel/rub right off. You could just tape off the areas you don't want to paint and spray it down, even if it looks rough at first it dries very smooth. That might save you a little time as opposed to the brush method.

P.s. I buy my cans from Lowe's for just under $6.

[uwcharliet]

I don't know about the interior, but I found a good solution for the lug covers on my 1991 that were flaking off. (How close is the color of the interior to the lug nut covers?)

I have heard on the Forum and noticed looking at Reattas a common problem of the silver paint working off the lug covers. I used a utility knife blade (emphasis: blade only) to gently remove all paint , being careful not to scratch into the plastic. Then, I thoroughly cleaned the plastic with 70% rubbing alcohol. Using blue painter's masking tape I very carefully covered the Reatta logo, trimming the tape with a sharp utility blade.

I got lucky matching the paint. I sprayed the following which I bought at a local body and fender supply store:

VHT High Temperature Wheel Paint* LIGHTLY, two-three times allowing a couple days to thoroughly dry between sprayings.

* #SP 188 Ford Argent Silver

Two covers needed the painting. The aforementioned paint did a great job matching up with the other two, but I nonetheless placed the two painted ones on one side of the vehicle and the original unpainted covers on the other.

Edited March 9, 2013 by uwcharliet (see edit history)

[PVRed90]

How about using a chrome tape? Google "metalized polyester film tapes"

[Gary D]

I used "Bare-Metal" chrome foil for model cars on the center console of my convertible. It was a lot of work, but the results were quite good. I purchased the stuff on good old ebay. I'll try to get a picture of the finished results this weekend.

[wws944]

I used "Bare-Metal" chrome foil for model cars on the center console of my convertible. It was a lot of work, but the results were quite good...

How shiny is the adhesive side - as in sticking some on a sheet of clear plexiglass? I have a non-Reatta project where something like that might be an answer. I've tried Scotch 3311. It is 'ok', but not as reflective as I would like.

[Gary D]

How shiny is the adhesive side - as in sticking some on a sheet of clear plexiglass? I have a non-Reatta project where something like that might be an answer. I've tried Scotch 3311. It is 'ok', but not as reflective as I would like.

As I recall, the sticky side is not as reflective as the "top" side... and the "top" side is not as reflective as real chrome trim...but was way better than anything else I had experimented with.

[uwcharliet]

Since I haven't tried it I couldn't say, but the paint and process to apply that I utilized worked well for me.

The three concerns about the tape that come to mind are:

- Does it come in a large enough size to cover the lug covers in one piece?

- "Chrome" implies shiny which the lug covers are not. I passed along what I happened across because I thought it was a good match.

- Will the tape ultimately peel? Hard to say, the damn original (painted) product has on many Reattas. (Not to mention the clearcoat on bodies which is another story.)

* Tune in some time in the future to see how my solution endures the test of time. Frankly, I hope I outlast it...