Chrome, two ways: graphite and Alumaluster

This is the stage the whole series has been building toward, where a glossy black part starts reading as metal.

This stage turns a mirror-polished black part into chrome. I use two different methods depending on the part: rubbing graphite powder into the polished clear and sealing it, or spraying Imperial Surface Alumaluster over the black and sealing that. Both start from the same place — a smooth, gloss-black surface. A mirror-polished surface underneath makes the chrome dramatically better.

The two paths don't look the same — pick by the finish you're after. Graphite gives a deep, smoky Beskar where the black shows through — I like the smokiness of the black underneath. If you go full silver, you're not going for the Beskar. Alumaluster is the brighter, screen-accurate chrome, and it does a really great job of making it look like chrome.

My process is built on CTProps' tutorial — an hour-long video I watched five times with notes. What follows is that foundation plus what I've learned spraying these parts in my own shop.

Tools & Materials

Affiliate disclosure: Some source links on this page are Amazon affiliate links. If you purchase through them, we earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Start From a Mirror

Both paths assume the part is already gloss black and cleared, and ideally mirror polished: gloss black base (I use Toyota Obsidian Black — I asked Sherwin-Williams for their deepest black and that's what they recommended), 2k clear over it, then wet sanded 1200/2000/3000, compounded, polished, and swirl-removed to a true mirror. The chrome layer is thin — whatever the surface looks like underneath is what you'll see reflected in the finish.

Keep the part mounted in its holder for this entire stage. From the first graphite rub until the finish has fully cured, bare hands never touch the surface.

Path A: Graphite

Graphite powder rubbed into polished clear reads as deep, dark chrome — the sealed version resists fingerprints and handling, which is what makes it wearable. The order matters: rub, seal, then a second rub into the soft clear. That second rub is the easiest step to miss, and it's why the finish holds up at a convention.

First rub

1. Load a soft makeup sponge with graphite. It takes way more powder than you expect. If the graphite stops spreading, dip the sponge again — don't try to stretch a dry sponge across the part.
2. Rub it in vigorously. Work the powder into the surface, then buff with a fresh sponge, then reapply. Repeat until you reach the chrome you want.
3. Check it with a flashlight. Dull spots hide in room light. Keep working until the shine is uniform across the part.

Seal the first rub

1. Mix 2k clear at 4:1:1 (paint : hardener : reducer) for the airbrush. Over-reducing dulls the gloss, so measure — don't eyeball it.
2. Start with a light tack coat. The first pass should be a mist, not a wet coat. That lets the clear grab the powder instead of flooding it and lifting it off the surface.
3. Build up from there. Once the tack coat has flashed, move into controlled wet coats. For the chrome stack, think six light passes overall, not one heavy coat.

The 3–5 hour window: the second rub

Three to five hours after spraying the clear, it's dry but still soft — not fully cured. Rub in another round of graphite now and it embeds into the clear itself.

1. Watch the clock. Plan your day so you're back at the bench 3–5 hours after the seal coat. Wait too long and the clear hardens fully — the second rub sits on top instead of embedding.
2. Rub in the second round of graphite. Same sponge technique as the first rub. This restores the shine the clear dulled.
3. Let it cure. I give it 24 hours before light handling, 72 hours for full hardness, and a full week before weathering, assembly, or convention duty.

The embedded layer stops fingerprints and rub-off, and the sealed under-layer acts as a backdrop, so any wear that does happen is much less obvious. My stack ends with the embedded rub — I don't put additional clear over it.

Path B: Alumaluster

This is the stuff right here — the screen-accurate chrome finish. Alumaluster is fine metallic flake suspended in solvent; you spray it in ultra-light passes and the solvent flashes off, leaving the flake sitting on your gloss black. The black matters: the flake reflects what's underneath it, so 100% coverage over gloss black looks different than the same coverage over raw plastic.

Shake the can

1. Really shake it. The pigment settles hard — open a can that's been sitting and it's all clear liquid with the flake caked on the bottom, like Nesquik out of the freezer. Shake it, flip it upside down, shake it again. The better mixed, the better the finish.
2. Pour it straight from the can to the cup. No reducer, no mixing. I'll be honest — I've never even thought to ask whether it wants reducer. I've always sprayed it straight and it works.

Set up the gun

Metallics need different gun tuning than clear or primer. The goal is to keep the flake on the surface instead of drowning it in solvent, so: low pressure, almost no fluid, lots of light passes.

1. Set the PSI with the trigger held just before fluid engages. The LPH-50 is a dual-action throttle — air first, then fluid. Pull to just before fluid and set your inlet pressure there. I run right about 10 PSI for Alumaluster, against 20–25 for base and clear.
2. Close the fluid needle almost all the way. Barely open it. That way I can pull the throttle fully and still get a tiny, consistent amount each pass, instead of managing it with my finger.
3. Small parts go to the airbrush. Darts, keypad inserts, small gauntlet pieces get the Eclipse with the 0.5mm nozzle — less overspray and less wasted product. Small details also usually get 100% coverage so they stand out against 70% armor around them.

Spray to 70 percent

Main armor gets about 70% opacity — enough flake for chrome, with the black still coming through just a little. That's the Beskar look.

1. Start on the back of the part. The first passes are your calibration — how it's spraying, your distance, your speed. Get that dialed on a surface nobody sees.
2. Build coverage in light misted passes. There's no wet line to follow with this stuff. Set your distance, speed, and line, then keep them consistent and let the passes stack up.
3. Paint one reference element at 100%. I do the Mudhorn signet. It gives you a live contrast check — the signet stays bright at every angle while the armor holds the deeper chrome. Bring the armor up toward the reference until the contrast looks right.
4. Check coverage in the dark, not the bright light. The gloss clear underneath already reflects light and will fool you into thinking you have more coverage than you do. If it reads chrome in dim light, it's there. If it reads black, it needs another pass.

Seal it

1. Let the Alumaluster flash, then seal it. Unsealed Alumaluster wipes off with cleaners or 99% alcohol — surface cleaner will rip it right off the part.
2. Spray 2k clear through the HVLP — mixed 4:1 clear to hardener, no reducer, at 20–25 PSI. Yes, clear changes the luster. The clear you choose matters, and "never clear coat chrome" is wrong for wearable armor.

For accent colors over the sealed chrome, I've answered builders that Montana Gold works with the chrome masked off first — but I haven't documented that process on camera yet, so treat it as a pointer rather than a tested step in this guide.

Common Mistakes

• Not enough powder on the sponge. Graphite takes far more powder than feels reasonable. If it stops spreading, dip the sponge again instead of pressing harder.
• Flooding the first clear pass over graphite. A wet first coat lifts the powder instead of grabbing it. Mist first, build second.
• Missing the 3–5 hour window. Fully cured clear won't take the embedded rub. Schedule the second rub when you spray the seal coat, not after.
• Judging Alumaluster under bright light. The clear underneath reflects and reads as coverage. Check in the dark.
• Too much fluid flow on metallics. You drown the flake in solvent and waste product. Needle nearly closed, ~10 PSI, more passes.
• Wiping unsealed chrome. Cleaners, alcohol, even a quick dust-off can pull the finish. Seal before anything touches it.

Checkpoint: Sealed Chrome

FAQ

Gray or black under the graphite?

Gloss black, buffed to a mirror. A gray-base variant exists, and the "paint it gray and rub graphite" version is the budget shortcut — but it's not this process. One experienced builder I compared notes with also landed on high-gloss black working best.

Does graphite work over a sealed piece?

That's exactly where it goes — the first rub is on the polished clear. The shine of round one determines round two, which is why a mirror-polished surface matters so much.

Can I paint over the graphite for a masked "painted Beskar" look?

I haven't tested it. If I were going to, I'd seal the graphite, embed the second rub, and then paint normally over the sealed surface — and I'd run the whole idea on a spoon first. Builders in the community have also gone the other direction: gloss black with a tape, toothpaste, or liquid-latex mask, then graphite on the exposed black.

Do I have to clear coat the chrome?

For armor you'll wear, yes. Unsealed chrome wipes off with cleaners and alcohol. The clear does change the luster — that's the tradeoff, and it's why the clear you choose matters.

Do I thin the Alumaluster?

I don't. Straight from the can to the cup. I've never asked the manufacturer whether it wants reducer — it sprays fine as-is at low pressure with the fluid barely open.

Can I do this with rattle cans?

I don't recommend it for this stage. Cans gave me inconsistent results and drips. The gun lets you set the finest mist and build slowly, which is what metallics need.

What about Duralumen?

It's on the bench for "durasteel" finish testing. Community reports say it competes with Alumaluster if you can handle the hot solvents. I haven't tested it yet — I'll update this guide when I have.

Where you are in the series: this is Stage 05 of the Armor Finishing series. It picks up from Stage 04: Seal, Color & Gloss (with the optional Mirror Polish step in between). From here the part reads as bare metal — leave it, add color, or weather it, then keep it that way with Maintenance & Care. Keep the part mounted on its work holder until the finish has fully cured.