Sentimental Akubra Hat

BRONZED AKUBRA HAT.

The trademark name ‘Akubra’, which is an Aboriginal word for head covering has become an Australian Icon. The shape is identical with the landscape of outback Australia, with a sharply rising and falling, rough, or jagged surface

I believe they made over 20 different styles of hats for the new Film “Australia”

Our customer was not part of that Film. He traveled across Australia for many years taking accurate measurements of land areas in order to determine boundaries, elevations, and dimensions. The Akubra has protected millions of Australians against harsh conditions like sun, wind and rain.
The hat was on his head 6-7 days per week and became his best friend (beside his wife that traveled with him) On his retirement the wife sent the sentimental worn out hat to be Bronzed.
The Bronzed hat is now a showcase with many stories to be told.

At Chrometech we not only Chrome on plastic and fiberglass but any material can be electroplated.

Why not Bronze your sentimental items?

Famous science fiction film

Famous science fiction film.

In the film Keanu Reeves was starring as Neo.
“Neo was a young software engineer and part-time hacker who was singled out by some mysterious figures who wantrf to introduce him into the secret of 'the matrix'. The cops also seemed to be after him, and he took a chance on discovering what he always suspected: that the world was not quite what it seemed to be and that a sinister conspiracy is at work.”
You might remember a bar scene where Cypher said (about his drink): "It's good for two things, degreasing engines and killing brain cells."
The selectively chromed glasses they used for the drinks were Chrome-plated by the Bronzing Studio- Chrometech in Castle Hill.

Our services are regularly used by

Fox Studio
Warner Bros
Model Makers
Artists
Sculptors
Car lovers (Chrome-plating plastic car parts)
Sports coordinators
Event coordinators

Look at all that chrome.

Almost everything in this car is chrome-plated, from speedo surrounds to air vents, from radio surrounds to door handles. Everything that was plastic is now chromed.
I believe that men and cars have a special kind of bonding. Men are like kids when it comes to cars. Stand around the pub and you will never find a man so talkative when he is talking about his car. I am yet to meet a man who doesn't swear by his car and dreams about owning a glorious automobile. Make your dreams come true and bring all your plastic parts to be chrome-plated.
If you are interested in finding out how to chrome-plate on plastic, please go to our website and read the 10 step guide to chroming on plastic.

Hot Rod show

It's been one or two weeks since my last blog.

Sunday 16 November 2008 I exhibited my chrome plated plastic and fibreglass car parts at the Hot rod show in Horsley Park.

At the Show N Shine show as they called it (Our Logo "Let your pride shine") I saw a lot of amazing Hot Rods, vintage and classic cars. Besides the cars there were a lot of activities and also a live Rock ‘N Roll band.

A few weeks before the show I promised to chrome-plate a piece of fibreglass for a club member. When he saw the chrome-plated piece he said “I never expected it to look that fantastic, I haven't even seen steel as shiny as that"

I had my Chrometech sticker on the car and a guy came up to me and said “Oh, I did my door handles with you about 10 years ago and I use the car everyday and the handles are still as good as new"

A touch of luxury with Chrome

Acquire A Touch of Luxury with Chrome.

Chrome always impresses with its smooth finish. But look how fantastic it is with its mirrored

finish.

Chrome-plate your dash, grill, door handles, mirrors and it will transform your car into a

spectacular show piece.

Real electroplating (copper, nickel, chrome) on plastic involves many complicated processes of

many steps. Isn’t it reassuring to learn that we have over 42 years of experience in chroming on

plastic and fibreglass? Could you get excited about that?

Own a masterpiece

Yes People At Chrometech Help You Own A Masterpiece.

You have probably searched in Google, car forums, looked through car magazines to find an alternative to chrome “look-alike”
We believe that you are aware that it is very difficult but possible to electroplate on plastic and fibreglass.
The basic problem in attempting to electroplate onto plastic is, they are electrically non-conductive. We need to apply a conductive paint because plastic cannot be immersed in a plating solution and coated in the same way that metal can.
We have nearly 45 years experience in electroplating.
If you want some information on “How to” feel free to get in contact with us.
You can read our articles on our website.

Novel approach to re-chroming die-cast

Our novel approach to re-chroming die-cast:

1. Stripping off the loose (peeling) electroplated surface either by electro chemical reverse current or wet &dry sanding.
2. A light bead blasting to assure that all the cavities are clean.
3. Etch prime (preferably two pack).
4. High (two pack.
5. Rub back the original contours with wet & dry. (Finishing off with # 1200) Should you have the need to re-apply the High fill, you must re-coat the rubbed through die-cast surfaces with Etch primer.

1 – 5 is the labour of Love. This is the part that you do yourself or find someone that really really cares for you to do. It is not that I am lazy and we will do it if money is no object. The problem is that it is difficult to judge how long the preparation work will take and therefore I can’t quote or if I do quote it is just too expensive.

I then coat the article to be chrome-plated with a thin acrylic resin, make it conductive and subsequently chrome-plate. The acrylic resin will stop the di-electric interchange between the base copper coat and the die-cast.

You are more than welcome to give me a call or e-mail me concerning the above

Re-chroming die-cast has always been a bugger.

At Chrometech we tell you how to pre treat the die-cast before chrome-plating

Chrome-plating the second time around after it has been pitted is rarely successful.

Reasons being: As you polish or grind the pits away you are removing the fine crystal structure of the die-cast. The more you polish or grind away the top surface, the coarser the grain structure becomes. During the electroplating process, this coarse grain structure allows more of the electroplating chemicals to penetrate the die-cast. This then will cause gassing and you could experience the bubbling effect of the chrome-plating in matters of days. Building up the craters with copper, in most cases is not successful. Not only do you have the issues with the process chemicals being trapped but the di-electrical properties between copper and zinc will accelerate the corrosion.

Tomorrow I will write about our novel approach to re-chroming die-cast.

What Everybody Should Know... About How To Chrome-plate On Plastic.

As you might not know, electroplating or chroming on plastic and fiberglass is possible. Gain

advantage of our Chrome-plating services at Chrometech.

Now, I know what you are thinking. I have been searching for chroming on plastic and fiberglass

for years and everyone tells me that it is impossible to electroplate on plastic.

Wow! How untrue.

Wouldn't it be wonderful to show off all that shine and gain prestige?

Don't you feel that you deserve nothing but the best?

Chrome-plating GTXY dashes

A customer brought in 10 GTXY dashes because he didn’t want chrome look-a-like.
He said “ been there done that”. We at Chrometech are the automotive customising arm of
The Bronzing Studio and can chrome-plate plastic and fibreglass, interior and exterior car parts such as dashboards, grilles, door handles, air vents and mirrors.

Our workmanship is of the highest standard. Chrometech has been commissioned for work by many owners of automobiles from the likes of Bentley, BMW, Ferrari and Maserati. Whether it’s restoring a bike or modifying a car, Chrometech’s bright work can make your pride shine.

Absolutely stunning.

Absolutely stunning. Be better than the rest. Have your plastic car parts electroplated. Yes you heard right.. electroplated, not vacuum-metallised. Electrifying right? Enjoy being better than the Jones. Our expert team at Chrometech can help you achieve that shine. I am sure that you would like to know our electroplating plastic chroming process. We are the only company that can electroplate on plastic. We need to seal the item, e.g. if plating on wood, plaster or cloth, the item must be made inert so as not to react with the acidic electroplating solution.. Then the item needs to be made conductive, like conductive ink.(produced in-house)
Next we electroplate via electrolysis. The initial copper coating will be followed up with Nickel, Chrome or Gold.
If you want to know more how to chrome-plate on plastic, feel free to contact us or we would be more than happy to show you around our factory.

Novely motoring emblem

Novelty size Motoring emblem.A customer brought in a fibreglass emblem 600 mm in height to be chrome-plated. We are the leading specialist on electroplating on plastic and fibreglass and any other non-conductors.Customized work that has been performed at Chrometech included work for Bentley, Maserati, Ferrari, BMW, Mazda and chrome work for motor bikes and car motoring enthusiasts.We make your pride shine at Chrometech.

Gain prestige. Express creativity

Novelty size Motoring emblem.

A customer brought in a fibreglass emblem 600 mm in height to be chrome-plated. We are the leading specialist on electroplating on plastic and fibreglass and any other non-conductors.
Customized work that has been performed at Chrometech included work for Bentley, Maserati, Ferrari, BMW, Mazda and chrome work for motor bikes and car motoring enthusiasts.
We make your pride shine at Chrometech.

do you want a gob-smacked crowd?

Do you want a gob-smacked crowd at the show?

Do you want the cream of the crop when it comes to quality? To complement the colour of your car why not add a dash of chrome to it? We at Chrometech will chrome-plate all the plastic of your car.
The finish, as you'd expect, is flawless. Many car lovers think it is impossible to electroplate on plastic but we at Chrometech achieve the impossible. Make your pride shine.

After a layer of primer (which helps to smoothe the surface of the object to be chromed and prepare it for further treatment) and a session in the drying oven, a blast in the spray booth sees each component treated with up to four layers of a conductive compound. The important word here is "conductive". This allows the chroming process (which relies on electric current to deposit pure metal onto the surface of the object being chrome-plated) to occur once the object is hung in the plating tanks and a jolt of current sent through it. That's why thick copper wire is used- to deliver the heavy current from the object.

Bronzed cigarette.

Most people who smoke have thought about giving it up.
We at the Bronzing Studio have a solution what to do with your last cigarette.
When you are ready to give it up, smoke only half the cigarette and put it out.
Bring it in to us and we can bronze it for you with a metal of your choice and then engrave it (My last puff, or my last cigarette )and date when you gave it up.
You can either carry the bronzed cigarette with you and when you have the urge, take it out of your pocket, look at it and feel proud of your achievement or you can mount it onto a wooden base and engrave a plaque.
Invite your friends that supported you giving up smoking and there will definitely be a lot to talk about.

efforts involved in chroming on plastic

We at Chrometech would love to give you an idea of the effort involved in chroming on plastic. General preparation includes disassembly of multi-part components (such as glove box lids) and the repair and smoothing of older chipped or damaged components. Many vintage, rare or irreplaceable car parts require crack repairs and surface smoothing before the chroming process can begin. Most plastic car parts from tail light bodies to gearshift surrounds can be given the treatment. The first real production step at Chrometech is the wiring of the objects. Components which are to be plated are mounted on thick copper wire which allows them to be immersed in the plating tanks. Some larger or smaller objects, such as an instrument cluster, require two or more wires. At this stage, parts of each object which are to remain unplated (such as the see-through faces of instruments) are carefully masked so they don’t cop a coat of chrome.
Step 3 to be continued tomorrow.

Like a panel for paint, the part to be chrome-plated is cleaned of all all paint, chrome or whatever. Chrome is vaguely similar to paint in that conventional mods-like body filler- are used to fill gaps in metal. Once clean ,any chips, nicks, cracks or pits are repaired with a filler and sanded smooth, and copper electrodes are glued to pre-drilled holes.

The part is given about 3-4 coats of primer which bonds to the base material and allows for 3-4 coats of plating. The part is then copper, nickel and then chrome-plated for a minimum of eight hours to assure a solid coat covers the entire part.

While an electrical charge is run through the part, the plating only bonds to the pre-treated area.

The process of chroming is called electroplating and the bright, reflective finish is achieved by applying several layers of an electrically conductive media to the surface.To have a part, be it in plastic, timber, glass, porcelain, fibreglass or whatever you want chrome-plated, all you need to do is disassemble the parts and get it to the Chrometech guys. They prefer to clean the parts themselves using solvents that won't harm the part or the finish.

The super-shiny colourless stuff that most of us know as chrome-plate has been used on cars for decades.Not only does it look good, but it protects steel bumpers and other bits from corrosion. Cars of the1950s are probably the best known for their use of chrome, with shine dripping from

everywhere from grills to radio knobs. But contrary to popular opinion,

the use of chrome isn’t restricted to steel bumpers and headlight rims.

Chrometech opens up a whole new universe for car modifiers by applying chrome to just about anything that can be unbolted or unclipped from your car. We can repair small chrome items on older cars, but more and more of our work involves components such as bonnet vents, door handles and plastic interior components. In fact, anything from bars of chocolate (!) to champagne corks

to kiddies shoes can all be chromed.