Methods for metallic silver/gold lacquering elements.

[curtquarquesso]

Hi all,

I would like to start lacquering my own elements in metallic silver and gold, as purchasing them online from reputable vendors is just so expensive. I fully understand why this is, but I also ask myself "how hard can it be?" I would like to be able to create a process that's a step above a rattle-can of Krylon, and some newspaper. 

I had the opportunity to ask Mark Stafford on reddit if he knew anything about LEGO's process for lacquering these elements, as that kind of stuff interests me. His response was this:

Quote

The parts are put into a massive drum, like a washing machine and spun around, like a washing machine, and the laquer is added at the right temperature, like soap powder, until the parts are coated with it, then it is cooled down still while being spun so they don't stick together. Then it is emptied out.

Hope that helps. ( It is a bit more complex, but not very much more.)

I was able to do some research on this process, and came across this video showing a process that looks very similar to what Mark described. 
Should be quite obvious that this process isn't exactly for the home-gamer, and it's likely not the process that vendors like Chrome Block City use, as his elements are "sprayed" to an extent, not tumbled. 

Does anyone have any information to contribute regarding this process? It would be nice to start a thread that's a sort of knowledge base, or repository for information regarding this process, experimentation with techniques, etc. 
Specifically, I would like to focus on Metallic Gold and Metallic Silver elements. Chroming is an entirely different process that could probably use its own thread. 

Share what you know, and let's try to make it rain. 

Edited September 7, 2018 by curtquarquesso

[MAB]

Well I know they do this to torsos after inserting the arms and legs after assembling them with the hips, as these have "shadows" on the inside legs and under the arms where the coating doesn't reach.

 

A fairly expensive solution that works for gold is gold leaf.

[Cylo]

On 9/11/2018 at 1:26 AM, MAB said:

Well I know they do this to torsos after inserting the arms and legs after assembling them with the hips, as these have "shadows" on the inside legs and under the arms where the coating doesn't reach.

 

A fairly expensive solution that works for gold is gold leaf.

How would they stop the lacquering from going inside the torso though? I thought that they held the bottem of the piece and just sprayed it on