Making chrome guitars

themaidenmaniac · #1 05-12-2005, 08:08 PM

Hi guys...

This is very cool. I know a guy who says he can do chrome guitars, and ive seen some of his work and its bloody great! He charges £125.

However, he says he can do RG's and Jems etc. but can't do JS's as "They are too curvy". I'd love to get this done, but obviously its not real chrome!

Guys?

Heres some of his work:

http://www.omission.fireway.co.uk/crome/2.jpg
http://www.omission.fireway.co.uk/crome/1.jpg
http://www.omission.fireway.co.uk/crome/3.jpg
http://www.omission.fireway.co.uk/crome/4.jpg

Globbits · #2 05-12-2005, 09:14 PM

Could you post a link-that pic isn't loading for me. Also, where in the UK is he based? I think chroming is done by electroplating-like plating nickel/steel cutlery with silver.

I know the name of the process, however, I have absolutly no clue what it involves or how to do it! (much like shredding

)

Rich · #3 05-12-2005, 10:21 PM

The guy has posted here. He takes 555's and does Bad Horsey knock offs. It's not chrome. It's stick on film that looks like chrome, and why he can only do flat surfaces.

bobojem · #4 05-13-2005, 12:51 AM

hey buddy, just thought to share a few things on 'chroming'

the process of chroming, as we often speak of is plating of chromium, which is very similar to the plating of gold, silver, nickle, and a whole bunch of other transition metals. What really happens is a oxidation-reduction reaction is driven by the means of electricity. The cathod is dipped in a solution of, say, chromium ions and the free electrons coming from the anode travels to the cathod and the chromium ions in the solution seeks those free electrons on the cathod out and physically attach themselves to the cathod. After a while, the cathod would be completely covered by chromium atoms/molecules and it looks shinny. So as you can see, it is slightly more complicated than dipping an object in a jar of paint. And since guitar body is made of wood and wood doesn't conduct electricity, for the most part, you can't directly 'chrome' a wooden guitar body. Therefore, the 'chroming' requires tricks. Various finishers use different tricks but they all most likely involve adding a layer of something on the guitar body. Also, a 'mirror' finish is fundamentally different from a chrome finish, although the two look very similar. I think its safe to assume that everyone pretty much know how a mirror is made so im not gonna go into details about mirror making but hopefully that provided people with some insights to the process of chroming or plating any kind of metal. This should help people understand why the gold plating on an edge gets scrubbed off. ;-)

-Bo

littlegreenman · #5 05-13-2005, 12:52 AM

Rich nailed it, and you can buy rolls of the stuff for £125, he's clearing it, but it won't last long.

Globbits, electroplating ONLY works on conductive surfaces, wood is not conductive, can't do actual plating on wood, not without MAJOR work before hand.

bobojem · #6 05-13-2005, 12:54 AM

hehe, i guess jeremy posted at the exact same time i did

themaidenmaniac · #7 05-13-2005, 04:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bobojem

hey buddy, just thought to share a few things on 'chroming'

the process of chroming, as we often speak of is plating of chromium, which is very similar to the plating of gold, silver, nickle, and a whole bunch of other transition metals. What really happens is a oxidation-reduction reaction is driven by the means of electricity. The cathod is dipped in a solution of, say, chromium ions and the free electrons coming from the anode travels to the cathod and the chromium ions in the solution seeks those free electrons on the cathod out and physically attach themselves to the cathod. After a while, the cathod would be completely covered by chromium atoms/molecules and it looks shinny. So as you can see, it is slightly more complicated than dipping an object in a jar of paint. And since guitar body is made of wood and wood doesn't conduct electricity, for the most part, you can't directly 'chrome' a wooden guitar body. Therefore, the 'chroming' requires tricks. Various finishers use different tricks but they all most likely involve adding a layer of something on the guitar body. Also, a 'mirror' finish is fundamentally different from a chrome finish, although the two look very similar. I think its safe to assume that everyone pretty much know how a mirror is made so im not gonna go into details about mirror making but hopefully that provided people with some insights to the process of chroming or plating any kind of metal. This should help people understand why the gold plating on an edge gets scrubbed off. ;-)

-Bo

So how the hell can you charge a piece of wood !
I shall speak to the chrome claimer and tell him he makes mirror guitars not chrome guitars lol. Whatever happens they still look mighty good!
Can a mirror finsih rub off somehow?

HDS · #8 05-13-2005, 09:33 AM

Rich is right, Alsas makes chrome laminates called FXsheeting you can do this with. They also sell mirrachrome paint that I have used but it still only gives 95% mirror like chrome.

Duff Beer Man · #9 05-14-2005, 03:01 PM

Or if you want a real chrome/mirror finish there is an acrylic out there called mirrored acrylic that you can put on and it looks great, but that would also call for a whole refinish of you guitar.

Ralsch · #10 05-14-2005, 03:44 PM

for you flashy players i wonder whats next ... maybe attaching chrome spinners around the pickups and having a 9v battery spin the pickups in a clockwise motion... what will we think of next. i would never do that though lol

ARR1V3R · #11 05-14-2005, 03:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ralsch

... maybe attaching chrome spinners around the pickups and having a 9v battery spin the pickups in a clockwise motion...

No man, counterclockiwse, with LEDs for polepieces!

bobojem · #12 05-15-2005, 01:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by themaidenmaniac

So how the hell can you charge a piece of wood !
I shall speak to the chrome claimer and tell him he makes mirror guitars not chrome guitars lol. Whatever happens they still look mighty good!
Can a mirror finsih rub off somehow?

hey man, i don't really get what you're saying. I'm not even sure if you're disagreeing with what I said. I clearly said that you can't chrome a guitar body.

themaidenmaniac · #13 05-15-2005, 08:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bobojem

hey man, i don't really get what you're saying. I'm not even sure if you're disagreeing with what I said. I clearly said that you can't chrome a guitar body.

i just ment, how do they make the chromeboys when it you can't electricly charge wood ?

darren wilson · #14 05-15-2005, 10:26 AM

Ibanez only made a handful of the basswood JS2CH models before they gave up. Rich has told the whole story in detail a number of times. The JS10th models were made of luthite, so they withstood the chroming process much better, and the new JS2PRM uses a polished powdered/fused aluminum finish over basswood, so technically it's not plated, either.