alright i put on the clear, things are going well enough BUT i got some ultra thin krome foil .... yeah i'm getting the impression that this crap is useless huh? It's certainly NOT chrome ... "aluminum" maybe if that was the look you're going for. Unless there is something i'm not doing *shrug* .... at any rate are there certain brands or something of BMF that are better than the next? I haven't used it before.

BMF is Bare Metal Foil. thats the product name. Maybe the brand name too. Its First class where as the rest are second rate. I've not used any foil to date.

yeah after i posted that i went digging around some more and i think you're right about it being the brand and everything ... at any rate, i went to their website and that is it was it's called. they describe it exactly like what i purchased though but this was made by model master. it sucks. It looks to me like the parts you get with a model kit or even something like pegasus wheels are chromed differently than just using some sort of stick on foil ... i want to know how they do that. then i would really be kickin ass. i guess i'll order actual BMF and see how it works but it better be mirror finish. they also have black chrome which i think might be pretty cool to get. is there a reason you don't use foil? do you know some dirty secret that i need to know? the mold lines on the bumpers really bug me when i spent so much time getting the rest of the car so nice.

Yea, Bare Metal is better than Mpdel Master stuff. Even that will only look so good. The chrome in kits and on Pegasus wheels is an actual plating. You can send stuff out attached to a "tree" to some place like ChromeTech. Prep work is very important. You can have no scratches or they will show up. There is a newer paint system, I forget the name right now (Alclad?). I have seen some good results in photos, just not in person.

Alsa Mirrachrome is one, but it's for larger stuff.
http://alsacorp.com/products/mirrach...irrachrome.htm

There is a chrome paint intended for models, it's used over gloss black for a true chrome appearance.

There's this, but it says it requires special equipment:
http://www.newfantachrome.com/goin/p...ntachrome.htm#

These guys can apparently chrome (silve, actually) anything:
http://www.coatofchrome.com/default.php

AHA! Here's the model paint I was looking for (mlomaka had it right):
http://www.alclad2.com/
Not just chrome, but a whole mess of natural metal finishes, like dark aluminum, burnt metal, and magnesium. Could have all sorts of uses in race or serious street car models.

Edited to acknowledge mlomaka's accuracy of memory :)

Alclad is good stuff. I've never used it but I've seen the results. I was in the paint store (english color) and the guy mentioned one of their employees airbrushed, and found a paint that they sold that, when airbrushed, looked just like chrome, I can't remember the name of it though. If you are looking into real metal finishes, they all need to be airbrushed. I've had success with model masters line of metalizers, much more cost effective than alcald

that all sounds just slightly disheartening i guess. i followed the links and i'm gonna say it looks like i might be SOL. still, the bumpers weren't good enough so i gotta figure something out cause they are already stripped. BTW, oven cleaner takes chrome off almost instantly .... not so great on removing the old paint but it does work eventually. i did a search for re-chroming model parts but came up pretty empty except one link to images of a car that said its bumpers had been re-chromed (not HOW)... they looked good in the pic but without getting up close and personal i can't really tell. the BMF website has that tutorial slide show but the images are small ... even though the car does look nicely done. but if they are only going to turn out 85% as nice as the chrome that came on them, it seems like a waste and i might as well paint them the body color. i know that will at least turn out nice.

Try here.

www.chrometechusa.com

my frustration level is making me stubborn i think but this model is already costing too much and causing too much frustration. i just ordered the spare parts from Revell which is another 4 bucks (and time). i used the box my wheels came in to return them which was express or something so there is another 5 bucks for shipping into my wheels (which i shouldn't have to pay). i went out of town to find foil, got crap, got over charged for other items i bought at hobby lobby, waited in line for frickin ever so that is a huge expense in my book - both time and money. add all that up plus the other things like i could only find a giant can of the blue color i liked for the stripes and i'm at almost max aggravation. so the bumpers are likely to end up black. that chrome service isn't over priced or anything, but they have a 10$ min which means if i wanted to make it worth my time i would go strip a bunch of other bumpers and shiny bits from other models and send it all at once ... however, i need to get some drawings done more than i need to get models built. ggrrrr is all i have to say. what's worse is that i bought a viper kit to steal the seats and brakes from and now i'm thinking of putting the rest of the Viper into a Cuda. uh ohhh. but then i thought, why do everything viper but not have the seats? the brakes i can build ..... but if this then that, if that then what? you know what i'm saying? i need to take a break i think.