Cobra!

[Guest]

It's nice to see that someone will take photos step by step of their project and take the time to post them for others. Thank you. Glad to see you're making progress!

What is this "new on the market chrome paint" you speak of?
I'm interested...
DaveA

Two companies make it ...it is very expensive....The companys are Innate and Alsa....(google them they have websites)...

The steps to using the product are many...first the part must be painted black, clear coated...then sanded and buffed to a high shine...then you spray their chrome look paint...which is alcohol based.....and when you spray the base, It really does look like chrome....(I was excited!) But ....soon as you clear it ...It dulls the look way down to look almost like dirtyish polished aluminum...I conmtacted both companies about their products failures....Alsa said I was an inept painter.....Innate admitted there is a problem with clearing and they were working on it ...Neither company would stand behind their product and therefore will never get my business again...

 

[DaveA]

I was afraid you'd tried Alsa. Several of my 'business associates' have tried their junk, too. I recall only one or two saying they had any real success in using it, and it's because they baked the daylites out of the 'chrome' after shooting it, then cleared it with several very light coats of clear....IIRC. I suspect they just wanted to look good among their peers and um.. exaggerated slightly. One of them thought that waterborne might solve the problem, but you'd think they'd make a big deal out of it if that stuff would work...but is there a waterborne clear yet that's worth anything?? I guess we'll find out when the air quality nazis make it to NC.

I've been using Sikkens' Argentum 'leafing silver' but that stuff ain't cheap either- $200+ per qt ready to spray. It's touchy too, but you get a fairly decent looking polished aluminum look. It's the same finish on 350Z and G35 wheels- shot over black. BASF has their new Alubeam that's coming out on Mercedes AMG S55 for a 10k upcharge, and PPG's supposedly working on a formula too. The holy grail in the wheel business is a liquid paint that looks like chrome, and with all the hullabaloo surrounding hexavalent chrome and plating pollution/disposal, there's tons of $$ being thrown at any solution that looks promising. That's why Alsa is selling their crap to the general public IMHO, because the OE's can't get it to work either....

Inept painter? Watch it...Brown's always looking for a sig line....

 

[gustav]

House of Kolor makes a "liquid-chrome" paint that is around $50/pint. I have seen it applied on samples they had at hot rod shows. It looks good, although it is not even close to Mercedes' Alu-Beam paint.

MB just showed the GLK concept in Detroit with this paint. It is absolutely amazing. The car looked like it was dipped in liquid mercury. They also had a prototype ML with the Blutech diesel there with the Alu-Beam paint. (see attachments)
I was able to speak with an MB designer about the paint. It was made in cooperation with BASF and is both a paint and a process. The gentleman told me that it is not available for retail sale at this point as it is only used on show cars and on the 40 anniversary edition CL's.

 

[ROZ]

Updates?

 

[Guest]

Updates?

This project currntly is sitting under a tarp in my shop....waiting for the Cole boat to be finished...and then it will resume.

 

[ROZ]

This project currntly is sitting under a tarp in my shop....waiting for the Cole boat to be finished...and then it will resume.

That must be code for: "I can get beck to work now that I've won the yard award"

 

[Guest]

That must be code for: "I can get beck to work now that I've won the yard award"

 

[Boobybouncer]

no the biggest fan of the cobra but watching your progress in the pictures always makes me appreciate a good body man :thumbsup car is looking great so far :beer

 

[snake321]

well.................:hmm

 

[Guest]

well.................:hmm

Refer to post 55

 

[snake321]

If you quit playing with the pink cat you'd be driving this thing....

 

[Guest]

If you quit playing with the pink cat you'd be driving this thing....

It's next on the list...

 

[cakemoto]

Jbb, I know someone with a set of nos rims for that thing?

 

[Guest]

Jbb, I know someone with a set of nos rims for that thing?

I had a set of repro's and sold em.....Thing about that car is...It's not gonna fool any of the Cobra purists....Its gonna be more of a pro street hot rod kinda variant of a Cobra...I actually like those centerlines on it, and I bought a set of cones and 3 bar spinners to clean up the look of them a little..

 

[Guest]

Thinking about testing the spectrachrome system on it when finished....It will take some thinking, and will be expensive.....but would look similar to this polished aluminum Kirkham.....without all the polishing..