The Best Silver/Chrome Spray Paint

A ways back I typed into my BFF google "what is the best gold spray paint" and came across a great article on the blog Chris Loves Julia titled "Which Gold Spray Paint is Best?". They do a great job with side-by-side comparison of different brands of spray paint and we ultimately went with their recommendation of Design Master and were AMAZED at how far metallic spray paint has come over the past 5-10 years. We've used it on a starburst clock my grandmother gave me and a globe Micheal picked up at a sale.

Micheal had tried to paint a free lamp we picked up with "chrome" spray paint that he picked up from Home Depot and was horribly disappointed with the results. It didn't look remotely metallic. A second attempt with a different brand looked a little more like satin nickel and we stuck with that because, well, it was a free lamp from craigslist that we used for lighting construction areas. :) No need to go overboard.

But now we're making decisions about what color to paint our Sputnik Light so we can replace the awful lamp in the entryway. To refresh your memory...


The finish is pretty corroded in some areas so it would be difficult to restore it back to it's original luster (which we would of course prefer) so spray paint is the next option.

We are deciding between doing a silver/chrome finish or stay with the original look of gold. So we did our own experiment using some of the different silver options on the market to see which one looked best/most metallic.

Here are the four contenders:

Design Master Premium Metals, Super Silver - Purchased at Michaels for 7.49
Krylon Metallic, Chrome - Purchased at Michael's for 6.49
Rustoleum Universal Metallic Titanium Silver - Probably purchased at Home Depot... (it was in our stock of spray paints)
Design Master Brilliant Silver - Purchased at Michael's for 6.49

We chose to use some Christmas Ornaments that came in a box at an estate sale that I didn't love. Micheal set me up a nice little painting station.


Then I began painting.

Design Master Premium Metals, Super Silver

• Good coverage, boasts "one coat" and you could probably get away with it
  
• Dries quickly
  
• Best "reflective" quality
  
• Painted metal looked like metal - Good definition
  
• No running/streaking

Krylon Metallic, Chrome

• Good coverage
  
• Dries quickly
  
• More of a satin finish than a reflective/chrome finish
  
• No running

Rustoleum

• Poor coverage
  
• Lots of overspray
  
• Lots of running/dripping
  
  
• Very sparkly, not metallic looking
  
• Comfortable handle

Design Master, Brilliant Silver

• Good coverage
  
• Not much overspray
  
• Good "brushed nickel/satin" look
  
• Dries quickly
  
• No running

Some side-by-side comparisons:


The Design Master Super Silver was the CLEAR winner in terms of reflectiveness and silver/chrome look. Brilliant Silver and Krylon Metallic were pretty close, but in my opinion the Brilliant Silver just barely edges it out. The Rustoleum was a dud, hard to work with, and looked very fake.