Any success stories painting your chrome?

Hi all.
I had a bird strike causing breakage of the grille surround. I am using this as an opportunity to order a TRD Pro style grille and have it painted. I will order a black one so that the body shop can paint it to the truck color. However, the hood bulge will also need to match, but the body man says painting the existing chrome doesn’t work and has never found success doing it. Even after scuffing it before paint he says he’s been down this road and it doesn’t work. I’m trying to avoid buying another hood bulge I black so it can be painted. Has anyone had the needed tenacity and experience to successfully paint this? Cheers

 

It will always be prone to chipping and flaking. I've tried it all.

 

Same. Tried all methods and over time, doesnt work.

 

We replaced our grille surround because of a deer strike, bulge wasn't covered by car insurance, so purchased on our dime.

Just buy the matching bulge. You'll be way happier.

 

Done. Thanks all.

 

Plasti-dip held up the best. Looks meh. Plastidip with bedliner over top works too. Also looks meh. I've heard of some that use plasti-dip, then bedliner, then sand smooth, then paint. I can only imagine how meh that looks. Getting a paintable upper grill scoop-snoot thing that's paintable is the way to go. Or those Eco-shell painted cover thingys.

 

I had my chrome "wrapped" by a paint shop. all black front end now and looks great. They also confirmed that you can't paint over the fake chrome

 

I plastidip'd my front and rear.. completing the chrome delete, here's a couple of pix.

I was hesitant at first but finally went for it. I ordered my front grill with matching hood bulge and surroundings from sparks in April but sparks said it could be September before my grill ships. Fck that, too long of a wait So I bought the pro grill locally.

My hood bulge was chrome and the surrounding was black... the outcome isn't isn't a perfect but I'm happy with it.

I went the plastidip route because of my reasoning below, good luck on your decision.

1) It's cheaper than getting it painted by a shop.
2) I did not want to wrap it because I failed at wrapping a few interior pieces previously... not gonna happen.
3) Buying end cap covers are quite expensive imo

 

I'm the Blazing Blue on the left. That was a chrome bulge and surround I painted. Been on the truck (which lives outside) for about 1.5 years. Overall, it totally looks better than the chrome. But I do have some rock chips. I also have rock chips in other body panels so its not just my paint work. If I did it over, I would plasti dip then bedline and sand that smooth and then paint. Its more steps but it will be more durable and still beat chrome. If you can get the color match on Toyota painted parts (not chrome) that will be better but the costs to buy my blue from Toyota for those 2 parts is ridiculous.

 

Maybe it's just me but, if you spray PlastiDip on as your first coat, and then bedliner and paint afterwards, I would think the PlastiDip would be the first coating to let go taking everything else with it. I don't know...

 

Yes, but the plasti dip adheres to the chrome much better then paints. In my above picture I used plasti dip on the chrome bumper ends, followed by bedliner for a protective shell. I've had no adhesion issues and so far there has been no chipping.

 

How long has the current set up been on?

 

@BlueRibbon4x4

 

The bulge and surround about 1.5 years, the bumper black out has been just over a year. My truck is always outside so this has been thru hail, rain, ice, snow, negative temps and extreme heat.

 

This hood bulge was done with plastidip, then bedliner, then sanded smooth and done with matte black. The bedliner was on there about three years before painting.



My bumper caps had plastidip covered in bedliner for over 5 years, and held up phenomenally.

 

Cool beans! That combination, in that order, would seem to be the ticket.

 

The key for getting anything to stick to chrome is proper prep which means sanding until it's not shiny anymore then applying adhesion promoter, primer, base color coat then 2K clear coat. Guaranteed you'll get an OEM quality paint job as long as your base coat matches the body paint well enough.

 

Mine is holding up okay except for a couple small rock chips where the paint seperated from thr primer. We did a light scuff of all the chrome, a self etching primer, a bake, then 3 coats of paint with a bake between each, then 3 coats of clear with a bake between each.



A year later...

 

I've stripped the chrome with a flapper disc wheel and powder coated mine. But I only had the car for year after that so couldn't tell you how it's still holding up. But I'm pretty sure it's still good.

 

The amount of time, money and effort people expend to eliminate chrome is mind boggling to me. Especially when sometimes it so obviously does not match the OEM color.

To each his own, but I am so very glad I have not been infected with De-Chrome Disease.

It does look good though. Carry on.