Mirror plastic, material review

Playing with color

Chrome paint has several types, each of which provides a high-quality chrome plating effect due to the high reflectivity of the metal powder it contains. The most common type of paint is mineral chrome paint, which contains aluminum powder. These dyes are produced either in cans for use with a spray gun, or in the form of an aerosol. The second option is best suited for DIY dyeing. There is also powder paint, which is especially durable and heat-resistant.

In addition to the smallest metal particles acting as a filler, the product contains an alkyd or nitrocellulose varnish base, which reliably binds them when applied both to each other and to the surface. The most important property - specular reflectivity - is ensured not only by the use of powder, but also by the original properties of the varnish, which allow the composition to be evenly distributed. In addition to the fact that chrome plating looks much more impressive than matte, it has the property of heat-resistant protection and considerable strength.

Depending on the added dyes, several types of coatings are distinguished:

1. The most common chrome finish is the classic variation, which has a white mirror finish similar to polished silver. In this case of chrome plating, no additional dyes are added.
2. It is not uncommon to see gold chrome. The noble shade is achieved through the use of yellow metal particles in the paint. When completely dry, this mixture forms a mirror-like gold metallic.
3. In addition to the two main options, there is the possibility of experimenting with color. Painting under chrome in other tones is carried out by introducing a certain volume of pigment of the required shade into the varnish.
4. Black chrome has an original effect that deserves special attention. This paint contains, in addition to aluminum powder, a dark translucent pigment.

All of the listed types have a glossy mirror surface when dry, reminiscent of liquid silver. There is a very different variety - matte chrome. This is a fairly popular type of painting, often used for interior parts. A beautiful matte effect is obtained by slightly changing the composition of the paint, giving the reflectivity some dispersion.

Composition and characteristics

Chrome paint is available in several varieties, each of which helps create a high-quality effect on the surface. Dyes of black and other colors are available either in jars or in spray form. Standard cylinders are used; they are most suitable for doing independent work.

The metal powder in an aerosol, which is part of any such material, is highly reflective. Among the important characteristics that chrome paint has are high strength and heat-resistant protection.

A particularly popular option is powder paint in cans, using aluminum powder as its base.

The main filler of such compositions is tiny particles with a metal base. Alkyd or nitrocellulose base varnishes are added to the product. They are needed to form reliable connections when applied.

A mirror-like, reflective surface is provided not only through the use of powder. This is facilitated by the original properties of the composition, which allow the material to be distributed evenly over the surface.

Chrome plating, compared to standard materials, looks more attractive. Also, using this coloring you can hide minor defects and rust.

Chrome chameleon

In addition to the usual metallized chrome paints, which give the effect of a mirror shine and matte finish, compositions with other interesting properties have been developed. These products include thermochromic paint. Its main feature is that it changes its color when the temperature acting on it changes, while at the same time being quite heat-resistant. The colors and shades are very diverse, a matte effect is possible, the coating can even become transparent.

Thermochromic paint is classified by two methods: by the type of color change and by the reversibility of this change. In the first case, three varieties are distinguished:

1. The coating, being initially transparent, acquires a certain tone when it deviates from room temperature towards heating or cooling.
2. The opposite option: the paint, which is colored, becomes transparent under different temperature fluctuations.
3. As the ambient temperature changes, the color of the composition tends to gradually change from one to another.

According to the second criterion, thermochromic paint is divided into reversible and irreversible. As is easy to understand from the name, reversible changes color as many times as desired, and irreversible - only once.

The originality of this composition, however, has not found wide application. The reason was the considerable cost and labor-intensive method of dyeing. Chameleon effect paint is mainly used to make souvenirs, for example, mugs with interesting matte and glossy designs that can only be seen when you pour a hot drink inside. On the packaging of some food products there are special marks made with thermochromic paint, allowing control over the temperature conditions of storage.

Types of chrome paints

When choosing paint with a mirror effect, you need to take into account the features and properties of the solutions presented on the shelves of construction markets. There are two main groups, which include all materials used for chrome painting.

One-component compositions

Most often, these coloring agents are sold in cans and are not suitable for all types of work; they have their own advantages and disadvantages. The first include the absence of the need for special tools for applying liquid chrome (the packaging is already adapted for spraying), as well as compactness and ease of storage (the paint in cans is hermetically sealed and will not dry out). Inexpensive one-component chrome-effect paints are sometimes packaged in cans.

The disadvantages of these materials are the following:

• the resemblance of a surface painted with one-component chrome paint in a can or can to real polished metal in most cases turns out to be distant;
• the process of painting by spraying is quite complicated, a good result is possible only if all the subtleties of the technology are fully observed;
• due to lightning-fast drying, the material sometimes simply does not have time to adhere to the base, as a result, the coating peels off even with weak mechanical stress;
• Purchasing chrome-effect aerosol paint to cover large surfaces is an impractical step, since canned formulations are more expensive per gram.

Dyeing technology

It’s worth dwelling on how to paint car body parts with chrome paint yourself. First of all, surface preparation is important, especially if it is glossy rather than matte. After all, on a detail as smooth as a mirror, even the most microscopic defects will become very noticeable. It is imperative to ensure that there is no dust in the room, otherwise all efforts will be in vain.

After checking these conditions, you can proceed directly to painting.

The liquid acrylic composition has its advantages - it is heat-resistant, withstands chemical influences, humidity, and unlike the powder version, it can be applied only to part of the part, making it multi-colored.

The process itself is as follows:

1. Cover the primed surface of the part with a layer of black dye.
2. When it dries, polish it.
3. Apply the required number of layers of chrome paint with an aerosol, drying each of them in between.
4. Finally, varnish the part.

Powder paint has a slightly different composition, due to which it has increased strength indicators: it is resistant to solvents, less susceptible to rust, heat-resistant and durable.

Alloy car wheels are painted using powder technology. Modern developments make it possible to perform this process with your own hands in a garage, since they do not require high exposure temperatures. The whole procedure consists of four stages:

• thorough cleaning of parts;
• primer coating;
• drying;
• applying powder paint.

In addition to alloy wheels, heat-resistant chrome paint in powder form can also be applied to other metal parts.

A wide selection of existing types of chrome paint and an extensive color palette allow you to create a high-quality coating for every taste. You can apply both the powder version and the aerosol yourself, creating a glossy or matte effect. With the right skills, it will not be difficult to bring any idea to life.

Coating options

There are several types of coatings, depending on the ingredients used:

• The classic version of painting chrome on metal is the most common. These are compositions with a white mirror shine. They are similar in appearance to polishing silver. Additional dyes are not used in this case. The chrome effect is ensured without them.

• The gold version of chrome plating is also quite common on the market. The paint contains yellow metal particles, which makes it possible to obtain a noble shade. The mirror gold metallic effect appears when the composition dries completely.

Buy powder mirror paint chrome

You can buy powder paint at a competitive price from us or from an official dealer of the company.

• own production with unique developments;
• wide range of chrome powder paint;
• the ability to place an individual order for an agreed batch of supplies;
• maintenance at all stages;
• affordable prices.

You can purchase chrome paints from our production from distributors or directly from the company. You can fill out an application either on the website or by calling our call center operators.

You may also be interested in matte powder coatings or glossy powder coatings.

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Spraying metals and their oxides onto glass makes it possible to improve the quality of glass, as well as give it some additional useful properties. Surely many of us have noticed “one-way” mirrors in films. With their help, those outside the room can observe those inside. The latter, in turn, do not see those who are outside, and can only see their own reflection in such glass. Such glasses exist in reality and are most often used not for espionage, but to protect various objects from prying eyes, and mirror coating is used for their manufacture.

Sputtering technology

The principle of this effect is based on the fact that a darkened room is very difficult to see against the backdrop of a brighter reflection. To date, there are no translucent mirrors that would be able to transmit light in one direction and not in the other.

In order to make such glass, people began to use special methods that allow them to create products with a one-sided effect. Thus, ordinary mirrors are glass with a very dense and thick reflective coating applied to the back surface. Mirrors with one-sided transparency are made in a similar way, but a thinner coating layer that transmits light is used.

As an alternative, today a mirror film is often used, which is applied to the surface of the product. Such a mirror film can be easily applied to a finished product.

There are two main spraying methods:

• pyrolytic method (carried out at the manufacturing stage);
• vacuum-type spraying (applied to finished products using a special type of installation).

Today there are several types of vacuum deposition, the most popular of which are:

• magnetron high-speed;
• ion-plasma.

Magnetron sputtering

This type of processing involves applying various types of metals and their compounds to the surface of glass using the magnetron sputtering method. Products are processed in a closed space. This processing is carried out at the molecular level, due to which the products receive high quality and performance characteristics.

To achieve the desired effect, gases of various types are often used - oxygen, nitrogen or argon. During the reaction, layers of metals are formed on the surface of the product. This makes it possible to produce glass with various specified characteristics.

Glass tinted using magnetron sputtering technology has a number of advantages:

• excellent reflective characteristics;
• excellent heat reflection characteristics;
• thanks to the ability to simulate the thickness of the layer of applied metal, manufacturers can produce glass with the necessary characteristics of light reflection and light transmission;
• This type of coating can even be used for processing patterned glass.
• relatively low and affordable cost.

Ion plasma sputtering

To apply ion plasma sputtering, it is necessary to place the product under vacuum conditions. In a closed space there is an inert gas, cathodes with a negative charge and a metal coating, a positively charged anode, and a bearing with a triple liner.

During processing, the spray layer is applied specifically to the bearing. The plasma method makes it possible to apply alloys of a wide variety of metals, as well as their compounds, such as titanium, silver, aluminum, nickel, chromium, etc., onto the surface of products.

The quality of the coatings applied will always directly depend on the quality of the surface. In this case, even such points as the roughness or texture of the workpiece, the quality of preparation of the surface itself, and production culture are taken into account. It can be noted that the limiting factor that influences the spread of this method is the fairly stringent requirements for surface preparation, as well as the cost of the equipment used.

Sapphire-coated glass deserves special attention. In the watch industry, this technology is often used to create watch faces. The material used for production is mineral glass, which, in turn, is artificially grown from silicon oxide crystals.

For lovers of especially durable glass, craftsmen from Switzerland have learned to create glass even from artificial sapphires. Such products are characterized by high strength and no less high cost. The solution between strength and cost was found after the invention of mineral glass, which was coated with sapphire. This type of spraying has the strength of sapphire and the cost of ordinary mineral. The only drawback is the rapid abrasion period.

Technologies make it possible to apply high-quality tinting, low-emissivity, self-cleaning coatings to the glass surface, which can be effective to any given degree.

Coatings containing oxides are more durable than metal coatings. They are more resistant to external influences and are chemically related to glass.

How to make a mirror surface on glass at home

The ability to create mirrors with your own hands is a fascinating activity. Even though furniture stores are full of mirrors of every shape and size, creating something with your own hands brings special pleasure. From a practical point of view, this is even a useful activity. Because it can be useful in repairing optics and lighting devices containing mirror elements. However, this will require a separate room with the functions of a chemical laboratory.

Necessary materials

To work you will need the following elements:

• Goggles, rubber gloves, respirator;
• Vessels or containers for working with solutions, glass rod;
• Silver nitrate;
• Caustic potassium;
• Ammonia;
• Spray;
• The piece of glass is high quality, beautifully shaped, smooth;
• formalin in solution;
• Paint of any color;
• Chalk;
• Cuvette;
• Distilled water.

Useful: You can obtain silver nitrate yourself from an old silver coin by dissolving it in a 10% silver solution. Be sure to follow protective precautions when doing this.

Procedure

To create a mirror, the technique of chemical silvering of glass is used. First, you should properly prepare the glass surface of the future mirror, always holding it only by the edges so as not to leave stains on the smooth surface. For this:

• it is washed well on both sides, as well as the ends, with distilled water and crushed chalk;
• the entire area of ​​the glass is degreased by wiping it with a napkin containing an alkali solution of 10 - 15% consistency;
• wash again with distilled water;
• dried;
• immersed in heated distilled water (the glass blank should be 10 degrees hotter than the silvering solution).

Next, a silvering solution is prepared. This is a two-step process:

1. Stage one. Distilled water is mixed with silver nitrate in a proportion of 30 ml per 1.6 g. 25% ammonia is dripped into the resulting composition until the sediment disappears. As soon as there is no precipitate, add 100 ml of distilled water.
2. Stage two, final. The resulting solution and 5 ml of formalin solution of 40% consistency are mixed. The solution for silvering is ready.

The glass is removed from the warm aqueous environment and placed on a special flask or cuvette. The silvering solution is poured into the middle and rolled out in an even layer using a glass rod. You can lower the glass blank directly into the solution, but so that the opposite side is not flooded with it. The chemical reaction takes three to ten minutes. After finishing, the resulting mirror surface should be washed with distilled water.

Next, the process of making the mirror continues with two hours of drying of the silver-plated surface. In this case, the temperature is maintained at a level of 100 to 150 degrees. The glass must be vertical. After the specified time has passed, the cooled surface is coated with transparent varnish using a spray bottle. If you get silver streaks, you should wipe them off with a cloth with a weak solution of nitric acid before applying the varnish. The silvering process is completed by horizontal drying of the mirror.

If the inner surface of the glass is endowed with the properties of a mirror, opaque paint of any color is applied on top of the silver layer. In order for the outer surface to serve as a mirror, the glass blank is kept completely lowered into a special container with a silver composition for 5-10 minutes.

Important: When working with chemicals, be sure to use goggles, a respirator and rubber gloves. It is forbidden to breathe the fumes of the resulting solutions. If it gets into eyes, rinse with clean water and consult a doctor.

Mirror paints

Application area

Christmas decorations

• At the moment, two types of mirror coatings are used: powder paints and aerosol cans. The second option is available to almost everyone - it can be used both for painting parts of motorcycles and cars, and for various decorations. For example, mirror paint for plastic, metal or ceramics can become an important element in the interior of your home, as it can originally diversify the color scheme of the overall decor.

Mirror motorcycle - much cooler

• Of course, such coatings are most appropriate in mechanical engineering, as you can see by looking at the top photo - chrome-plated parts of a motorcycle or car are always attractive and very beautiful. In addition to beauty, chrome powder paint of any color provides anti-corrosion and high mechanical strength to the coating.
• The process of applying powder compositions consists of three main stages, these are a) preparatory treatment of the surface of the part; b) applying powder to the surface using a sprayer; c) polymerization or melting of the powder in an oven. And if we talk about the principle itself, then dust particles of powder are attracted to the grounded part, which then melt.

Note. Regardless of the method used to paint objects (polymerization, aerosol), in any case the surface to be treated must be cleaned. This is done in two ways - chemical and mechanical.

Powder coating of wheels in chrome

Nowadays, powder coating of chrome wheels is used by all car manufacturers. This decision is justified by the following reasons - this coating can be considered the most durable and reliable in our time, thanks to painting the wheels in chrome, effective protection against all kinds of factors is provided. But over time, the appearance of car wheels becomes unsightly, the paint fades and begins to crack.

Most car owners immediately wonder what to do in such a case; will they really have to fork out money for new wheels? We will help you save a lot of money, to do this you just need to contact our company and order the service of powder painting of wheels in chrome. In this case, your discs will acquire an appearance comparable to new products, and you will no longer need to spend money on a set of new discs.

Advantages of contacting our company

Our specialized company offers its professional services for painting wheels in chrome; this procedure is performed using powder paint. To perform this service, we use exclusively modern equipment from renowned manufacturers, the latest technologies, and are also ready to provide you with a guarantee that we will complete the work as quickly and efficiently as possible, and the paintwork of your disc will be completely restored. If you need to paint your wheels in chrome and you contact our specialized company, you can be sure that you will receive the following advantages:

• We employ exclusively professionals who can provide high-quality powder coating of chrome wheels. In addition, you can order wheel repair from us at the same time as painting.
• Before we start directly painting the disc in chrome, we sandblast and mechanically treat the surface, due to which the service life of the polymer coating increases significantly.
• Each of our specialists has extensive experience in performing such tasks; in harmonious tandem with modern equipment, they are able to create the impossible - an ideal chrome-look polymer coating.

So, if you need to paint your wheels in chrome, then welcome to our company! We will provide you with high-quality results in the most optimal time, and your car’s wheels will shine like new again.