painting a chrome bumper

[jschreiner]

can a chrome bumper be painted, or do I need to find a white one?

[fordman]

i would think it could be. you would have to ruogh up the surface so the paint would stick to it.

[BiggDogg]

it can be painted... my buddie had his done on a 2004 F250 after a girl rear-ended him. Personally I like the look of chrome, but if its not in good condition painting it is sometimes easier and less expensive than refinishing or replacing.

[cghstrojan08]

Just wondering, how about Rustoleum Chrome paint.

[basketcase0302]

Seen em' painted before, most were flaking off.

Like Fordman said, better rough it up good so it will adhere.

Basketcase

[PetesPonies]

yes you can paint a chromed bumper, but it takes some effort and materials to make it last as well as the rest of your vehicle. But I have done it many times. First, using a DA, sand the entire bumper with 80 grit. I try and remove all chrome. It is thin and comes off quickly. Getting to the nickel layer below will allow the primer a better chance of adhering. If you don't remove the chrome at least sand it well to give some mechanical adhesion to the primer. I then sand it again with 120 grit, usingthe DA again. I use the DA in its rotary mode. I then prime with epoxy primer. The epoxy I use allows sanding when its cured. You could cover the epoxy with urethane 2K primer if your epoxy is not easily sanded. I block the epoxy getting rid of any sanding marks left over. If needed, spray with some more epoxy. I sand the epoxy with some 320 wet. If you have sanded through in places, you need more epoxy. If a thin coat of epoxy covers all and no more work is needed, spray your top coat after the epoxy has cured 30-60 minutes. This is called a wet on wet application. If the epoxy needs some more sanding, do that, using probably 400-600 depending on what paint you will be spraying on it as the top coat. When you treat the bumper like this, the paint will be adhered as well as it is on the rest of the vehicle.

[jschreiner]

Thanks all. Jay

[cghstrojan08]

See, my dad has had a chrome bumper re chromed before. He said it was the worst money he has ever spent. Guess it came out crappy and flacked.

[dcbullet]

I painted this bumper which was half chrome and half rust. I did the basic stuff that Petesponies but a little less aggressively. I used Krylon Rust Tough and it held up very, very well.

[cghstrojan08]

I have wire brushed my bumper in the past then spray painted it with Rustoleum. Totally rusted out again. Gonna have to get it sand blasted.