I want to make the outer ring on the grille a darker chrome color. I noticed this post explaining hot to paint it but am wondering if there are better options? I want it to last and not chip away after a while. Any other suggestions? Thanks.

 

Well, I tried it with paint a while back and it will chip eventually... paint just won't stick well to chrome.

I know a few members who have it done and they don't seem to have issues.

I said screw it and went with a color matched frame from Sewell then put some clear bra material over it...

 

Hey there. First off, www.l-tunedparts.com sells a "black chrome" grille bezel (surround). I don't recall the price, but feel free to visit the site and check it out.

Another option, as isthrizzy said is to purchase one already painted from Sewell. Since the group buy is over, I think they're like $250 now. They were offering a core exchange of $60, but I dunno if they still do.

Finally, if you want to paint it, strip the chrome first and problem solved. The paint will chip from the chrome, so you need to strip it. Search for a plating shop in your city and they have chemicals to strip the chrome. If you know of somewhere with a zero bead or glass bead machine, you may be able to blast it off as well.

Some people may have sanded the chrome off, but I'm not sure how well that works. I hope this was helpful!

 

I heard there was a spray you can just spray on it and the paint will "bubble" off. Never tried though..

 

Thanks for the help. I checked out l-tunedparts.com but I'm not sure that I want to spend $289, although that is exactly what I want it to look like.

Does anyone know if that piece actually is metal or is it plastic?

 

Ahh man, I didn't see that L-tuned one... prolly would have bought that one instead of the color matched. Oh well, color matched is good enuff.

 

The piece is ABS plastic, which may have a nickel base under the chrome, but both can be stripped efficiently with the chemicals used at a plating shop. Others have reported getting similar things stripped for ~$20.

 

look for air-craft stripper. it should take the chrome off.

 

If I strip the chrome is the paint used in this post going to give it the chrome look? or is it just going to be a dark gray color?

Where can I get aircraft stripper? I found it online but I'm wondering if I can just buy it locally.

 

If you strip the chrome and use that stuff, it will not look like "black chrome". The stuff in that thread is spray tint, so for it to achieve the desired result, you would need to leave the chrome on since it's just tinting it enough to give it that black look.

 

So basically, if you want to make it like "black chrome", you can leave the chrome on and use the spray tint method mentioned in the thread you posted, but run the risk of it chipping, especially when a rock hits it.

If you want to paint it a solid color, strip the chrome first.

If the black chrome is the way you want to go, you might as well try that method and see how it holds up since it's so cheap to do and since it only takes like 10 mins to remove the front grille and bezel.

 

Thanks everyone. I'm thinking I might use that paint to get the black chrome look and then I'll buy some clear bra material to wrap around it, that should stop it from chipping. How does that sound?

 

Sounds good in theory, but I've never tried it myself, so perhaps someone with more experience can chime in.

 

You can just paint it with Tamiya paint. It will give the black chrome look.

Or if you plan to paint it the body color, you need to sand it down and then paint. Mine is holding strong after a months.

 

Why not try getting a roll of smoke tint vinyl? You can always remove it, it's cheap, and depending on what you get, fairly durable.