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I need to make something reflect as much light as possible. I've been messing with mylar, but this thing has a bunch of surfaces and cutting/gluing all that mylar is not fun. Is there some kind of paint (preferably spray paint) that I can dip plastic parts in? It doesn't have to have a smooth mirror finish, just bounce light as effectively as possible.

There are spray paints with that put tiny reflective spheres on items. It depends on what you want to do with it, they appear great in videos but I've never seen a great review of them. So if you're using it with sensors it may be suitable, but there should be something better than type if it involves human eyes.

Maybe a chrome paint like this though?

http://www.therpf.com/f11/most-reflecti ... nt-137691/

http://www.spazstix.com/mirror-chrome
Never used it myself but I've seen parts painted with it. They looked pretty good.
Maybe it will work for your application

I decided to order some of the Spaz Stix chrome spray.

Let us know how it works for you

I've always wanted to experiment with vapor deposition of aluminum, like how they make space blankets and telescope mirrors.

It's pretty easy in theory. Making a machine for this would be a neat project. I'd imagine that building a vessel that you could vacuum down that hard would be the tricky part.

Have you considered gold leaf?

Found this too:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=p ... JdCMiAsr6c

RichW wrote:Have you considered gold leaf?

Sounds pricey!

Jimustanguitar wrote:Found this too:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=p ... JdCMiAsr6c

Found this in the FAQ on their site: "NOTE - The product is for glass only and not to be applied to plastic of any kind." That's too bad because it looks amazing.

If the bank account can handle it or the quantity is justified plastics can be plated (plating on plastic, POP). Electroless nickle plating or chrome may be handy for parts in that is smooths the layers by building up a coating. ABS is an excellent substrate. We have a few parts at my work that we plate. Usually you pay a lot charge rather than per piece for this process. prices can vary quite a bit depending on how 'up to code' the facility is.

How did your sprayed parts turn out?

They came out alright. I tried Spaz Stix and the Krylon someone linked earlier. They're about the same but I think the Spaz Stix is more "efficient." One small can seems to coat a lot better than the Krylon, which comes in a can twice as big. I think the Spaz Stix is also marginally more reflective in this application.

Both are designed to be sprayed from the inside of something totally transparent and smooth (glass or vacuum-formed clear plastic) and that's what it takes for them to give the mirror finish. Spraying on plastic results in a dull coat resembling tin. (Dull tin, not shiny tinfoil.) It's enough to bounce light around, though.

I'm interested in knowing more about plating on plastic. If I can set up a small plant in my shop for this, and it won't cost zillions of dollars, it could be a good choice. I wouldn't want to outsource it, though. At that point, Spaz Stix would have a better payoff. What I do here is "just-in-time" and I can't foresee having big enough lots to where it would make sense to pay someone else to do it.