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I'd like to know how to paint something to resemble chrome. Silver and highly reflective. Thanks!

Paint the ground and the sky on the model, and make sure you consider how the object you're painting is shaped, where and how the reflective image bends and warps.

Chrome paint?
Or really tricky NMM work

Chrome paint can be gotten in spray cans... Dunno how well it works on mini's as I've not tried it personally. But Halfords in UK definitely sell one.

Chrome paint doesn't really work on little models, though.

Vacuum-metallising can work (it's how they apply the shiny chrome effect to plastic toys, for example) but isn't cheap.

NMM (non-metallic Metal) paint schemes are your best bet. Not easy to learn or master, but also works.

The best way i have seen is senmm but it is not easy to do, a good tutorial is from CMON.

http://www.coolminiornot.com/articles/1191-reflecting-on-senmm

The mini above and the ariticle on cool-mini are excellent regarding what is known as NMM (non-metallic metal) are very impressive wonderful techniques.

Barring that, you can actually paint chrome - but it is NOT easy to work with.

My necrons are painted in a chrome based color scheme, and I have to say, it has been quite the struggle to make it work.

The paint;
Allclad II Chrome paint.
http://alclad2.com/finishes/high-shine/alc-107-chrome-for-plastic/
This is amazing stuff. Its airbrush only, and requires two layers of their very glossy black primer as an undercoat, with quite a bit of drying time underneath. It is a lacquer based paint.
The results are stunning.
It is used a lot my scale modelers for cars and airplanes.

The challenges
Priming
you must use the proper primers, and they must be used according to the manufacturing instructions...no short cuts.
(primer, wait one hour. Primer second coat, wait 24 hours, then paint on metallic paint).

Working with the paint
As this paint is highly reflective, anything you paint over it (wash, other layers, etc.) detracts significantly from the affect.
You can use some of the all clad transparents to a degree (I think they are actually laquer dyes, not actual paints) but putting other coats or colors on the model is challenging.

Doing touch ups is also a great challenge, as painted on is no where near the affect of airbrushed on.

How to work with it
I have found that I can do vehicle base colors, or shading with it (I have done a lot of metallic vehicle body paint commissions, including a thunderhawk) and that if used as a zenith highlight on infantry, it can work.
But overall, this stuff is expensive, and has quite the learning curve.

Alternatives
Supposedly there is an even better chrome paint, Spaz Stix Chrome - but I have never worked with it.


If you are already a good painter, I might suggest trying to use the NMM methods....the chrome paints can work, and work better for some applications - so they might work for you, but expect them to be a bit tricky.
Best of luck.

This guy is also doing some chrome models, and has a video explaining the principle.

The GW Runefang Steel paint and a layer or two of high gloss varnish? NMM take a lot of talent but honestly I just perfer the metallic paints and they're a whole hell of a lot easier to use.

 Davespil wrote:
The GW Runefang Steel paint and a layer or two of high gloss varnish? NMM take a lot of talent but honestly I just perfer the metallic paints and they're a whole hell of a lot easier to use.

There is nothing in the GW range (or most of the other major miniature paint ranges, really) that has the reflectivity of chrome. The Alclad II lacquers are the best around when it comes to metallic paint, but like the previous poster said, they take lots of prep work and very difficult to work with. The results they can achieve when done correctly, however, are amazing.

In all honesty, NMM isn't really "hard" as much as it is time consuming. The most difficult part is making the correct color choices. Of course, this being the internet it is easy to find various recipes for whatever color NMM you want. Personally, I am a fan of true metallic metals, which is using the NMM high-contrast approach with metallic paint. Don't get me wrong, NMM can look phenomenal, but nothing matches the actual luster of metallic paints.

The answer to all things is on youtube...\

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-Zd6dm73pI