looking into how to duplicate electrochrome with hydrochrome.

[jp1gt]

I have spent the last 6 months and a few thousand dollars looking into how to duplicate electrochrome with hydrochrome. There are many companies that sell the chemicals for the process and many schools of thought. My thinking is if you have a piece of electroplated metal does hydrochrome look IDENTICAL? I have finally done it. If you look at a car the chrome has a little blue tint. that is the difficult part---- the big advantage is that you can repair a piece just as you would for painting, filling holes even glueing broken pieces together. I have only done small pieces so far but I am going to chrome my bumpers in the future. How do we start the discussion?

[auburnseeker]

I guess the best way to start is with lots of pictures.  Lots of guys claimed powder coating that looked exactly like chrome that wasn't so the proof will be in the photos. 

[jp1gt]

I will send some photos but I do not think they are good enough. One thing I will say is the piece to be chromed has to be PERFECT. No flaws at all. I am not a perfectionist but I can do perfect work.

[Bloo]

Also true with electroplated chrome. Most of the time spent is preparation.

[drhach]

Could you discuss a little about what "hydrochrome" is? I'm not familiar with this process. 

[Terry Bond]

A picture is worth a thousand words. 

Terry

[TexRiv_63]

Interested.

[Mark Shaw]

In my opinion, proof will not be in pictures; but in seeing actual examples in sunlight, shade, overcast, etc.

 

[auburnseeker]

Final test will be the in person hand inspection,  but pictures will really get the ball rolling,  especially next to a piece of freshly Electro plated chrome for comparison.  Would be nice if they could even be the same type of piece. 

[Bloo]

3 hours ago, jp1gt said:

If you look at a car the chrome has a little blue tint. that is the difficult part

That's hexavalent chrome. You don't get that at most electroplaters anymore. Trivalent chrome is what most of them do today. It is often more neutral or even a little yellow. You can still get hexavalent chrome done, but only at a few shops and it is disappearing fast.

 

[1937McBuick]

Is it the same process as Cosmichrome.

There's videos of it on YouTube/Google.

[jp1gt]

There is only one chemical supplier that has the right stuff. The topcoat has a blue tint in it. The chrome in this supplier is bright like a mirror with no yellow like the others. I do not have a new piece of electroplated chrome but here is a chrome old piece. The supplier is in Cleveland Ohio if you want to hold a piece. Just remember their chrome is brighter than what we are looking for. I am near palm springs. What I need is for some people to look at it and try to scratch it. It is like real good clear coat. What I am offering is a very shortened time to learn how to do it. You could do it as a business but I do not have the time right now. You have to have the patience to get the substrate perfect. A paint booth would be great--

Edited January 9, 2023 by jp1gt (see edit history)

[jp1gt]

4 minutes ago, 1937McBuick said:

Is it the same process as Cosmichrome.

There's videos of it on YouTube/Google.

I use cosmichrome----

[bryankazmer]

7 hours ago, Bloo said:

That's hexavalent chrome. You don't get that at most electroplaters anymore. Trivalent chrome is what most of them do today. It is often more neutral or even a little yellow. You can still get hexavalent chrome done, but only at a few shops and it is disappearing fast.

 

what you say about hexavalent being rarely used is true, but the electroplated layer deposited is chrome, valence zero, in either case.  The +3 and +6 valence states are the ions in solution.

[TAKerry]

Are you hydro dipping? I have seen the process where graphics are used  but never chrome.

[SC38dls]

Are the pictures above before and after or what? I don’t understand what you are trying to show us with them. Maybe I’m just dumb but trying to understand what you are saying about the process is lost in the 1000 words those pictures are supposed to say. 
dave s 

[jdome]

If it is the water transfer process I have seen it doesn't meet the side by side comparison test. It has the look of plastic model chrome and somewhat of a chameleon effect (blue/yellow) depending on lighting.  I have a concern about durability and how it will wear on door handles.

[Bryan G]

A friend spent a bundle of money on a setup to do "chrome"; I forget the brand name but it was fairly well advertised. I saw some samples he did that were quite good, indeed, but they were the exception and not the norm. The process had zero tolerance for flaws and he found himself spending days to get something right.

[jp1gt]

It is zero tolerance. I work on it when I have time. I am just throwing the info out there for someone that wants to do it. And learn from my experience. I could not find anyone for advice, you are lucky.

[bryankazmer]

both the dip process and the top nickel and chrome layers of traditional electroplating accentuate rather than cover substrate flaws.  The surface prep, whether the plating and buffing of copper or other methods , is the surface repair step.  

 

What is the actual chemistry of the surface in the dip method?

[prewarnut]

Yes and no. The copper does allow "working" the surface a little bit (e.g. can be filed/sanded/polished) - it is a soft layer. Nickel is really hard of a layer and thus difficult to "work" once plated. Both are metals which will fill microscopic voids a little (compared to gold or silver) and nickel can "level" the surface a bit. All this is relative and important with "decorative plating." Overall however, I agree that 98% of finish quality comes from prepping the metal before the initial layer of plating.