Before you start
- Part chromed and sealed (Stage 05)
- Cretacolor graphite + makeup sponges for graphite finishes
- Nitrile gloves, 1200-grit, and 2k clear only if a repair round is needed
Maintenance and care of painted props
Anything that touches the surface can mark it — that's the nature of paint. This stage covers the handling rules that keep a sealed chrome finish looking new, and the two repair paths for when a piece takes damage anyway: a graphite refresh rub or a full repaint round.
Keep cleaners and alcohol away from the chrome — surface cleaner will rip unsealed Alumaluster right off. Repair rounds use the same 2k products as earlier stages: ventilation and a respirator.
A finished, sealed chrome piece between events: handled by the inside surfaces, nothing touches the chrome.
You'll complete
- Handling and cleaning rules for the finished kit
- A triage call for any damage: refresh rub or repaint
- A repair path back through base, clear, and chrome
Time & difficulty
- No bench time unless a piece takes damage
- A repaint repair follows the paint-and-chrome timeline
- No new skills — everything here reuses earlier stages
You’ve got hours into this finish by now. This stage is the short list of ways to keep from wrecking it.
By the end of Stage 05: Chrome the part is chromed and sealed (and maybe colored and weathered after that). This stage is the short one: how to handle the finished piece, what never touches it, and how to fix damage when it happens anyway.
Think of the finish like a showroom car — anything that touches the surface will leave a mark. That's the nature of paint. It takes many hours to finish one of these pieces and only a few minutes to ruin it.
Sealed graphite with the embedded second rub resists fingerprints and normal handling, and the mirror lasts as long as you care for it.
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.
| Item | What it’s for | Source (#ad = affiliate) |
|---|---|---|
| Nitrile gloves | PPE for the 2k products in a repair round | Amazon |
| Cretacolor graphite powder + makeup sponges | Refresh rub on graphite finishes | Art supply store |
| 1200-grit wet/dry sandpaper | Scuffing a damaged piece for repaint | Auto parts store |
| 2k clear | Re-sealing after a repair round | Auto paint store |
Care rules
There isn't much to this. The rules are short because they mostly amount to keeping things away from the chrome.
- Handle by the inside, not the chrome face. Anything that touches the surface can mark it, so pick a finished piece up by its inside surfaces and keep everything else off the chrome.
- No cleaners, no alcohol. Surface cleaner will rip unsealed Alumaluster right off, and 99% alcohol does the same. The seal coat protects the chrome from casual contact, but I still keep solvents away from a finished piece entirely.
Field repair
There are two kinds of damage: a graphite finish that's gone dull where it gets handled, or a scratch through to the black or the plastic. Each one gets a different fix.
- Dull or worn graphite: rub in more. The sealed layer underneath acts as a backdrop, so wear is less obvious than you'd expect. Load a makeup sponge with Cretacolor and work the worn area the same way you applied it in the chrome stage; more of the same graphite should blend in. A fresh rub is unsealed, though — it will fingerprint and transfer until you seal and re-embed it the same way, so treat it as a temporary fix.
- Scratched through to color or plastic: repaint, don't patch. Scuff the piece at 1200 grit so the new paint has something to bond to, then run it back through base coat, clear, and chrome. I've refinished pieces this way.
Common mistakes
- Grabbing a piece by the chrome face. Anything that touches the surface can mark it. Pick it up by the inside.
- A quick wipe with spray cleaner. Cleaner strips unsealed Alumaluster on contact. Keep it away from a finished piece entirely.
- New paint over glossy clear without a scuff. It has nothing to bond to and can peel.
Checkpoint: Care Rules in Place
FAQ
Can I clean it with alcohol or a spray cleaner?
No. Surface cleaner will rip unsealed Alumaluster right off, and 99% alcohol does the same. Even on a sealed piece, I keep solvents and cleaners away from the finish entirely.
Will the graphite rub off on my hands or clothes?
Not once it's sealed. Sealed graphite with the embedded second rub from the chrome stage resists fingerprints and rub-off. A fresh unsealed rub — including a field refresh — will transfer until it's sealed and re-embedded the same way.
Will it survive a hot car at a convention?
That's one reason we print armor in PETG instead of PLA — it's more heat tolerant and won't warp in a hot car. I can't promise the same for a PLA print.
How long does the mirror last?
As long as you care for it. Treat the finish like a showroom car or a casting master: anything that touches the surface can mark it. That's the nature of paint.
Where you are in the series: this is Stage 08, the final stage of the Armor Finishing series. It picks up from Stage 05: Chrome — graphite & Alumaluster, with the optional Color and Weathering stages in between. The full method, from raw print to bare metal, starts at the Armor Finishing series landing page.