I have no experience with painting over chrome but I know there are a few members on here that have done their grilles and bumpers too, I think SS4luck did his grille but I could be mistaken for someone else, did you try searching for threads at the top of the page?

 

I did my rims and grill so far with plasti. Stuff is amazing!!! Next are bumpers.Real cheap and easy

 

If you would like to paint the bumpers, I did mine or my previous 10 QC Dodge, make sure you ruff up the chrome with like some 80 Grit Sand paper. Wipe down with alcohol and a tack cloth. Spray base coat with an etching Primer to adhere better to the chrome. After at least 2 coats of etching primer put a couple coats of top coat (color) and then put at least 2 coats of clear. This is about a 2-3 day process to give time for all paints to dry the recommended time. I will post pics later once I find.

 

I'm trying to decide between painting them black myself or just waiting a few months and saving up for a Line-X job. The advantage of Line-X is it will be much more durable, but I don't know how much they charge for the job (they are closed on the weekend). If I go the Line-X route I will have them hit my side steps as well.

Edit: After some more reading I have narrowed the choices down to having the parts powder coated or Line-X'd or Rhino Lined. I'm guessing all three are very expensive so I probably won't do any right away but I will call around Monday and get some pricing info to see how prices vary.

 

Oops.... I just posted a thread basically asking the same question.

 

I called line x and they said it isn't guarunteed to stick to chrome, and they said it would be $500 for just the bumpers. So that is definitely a no go. I called a powder coating shop next and they quoted me $150 for the bumpers and they say it will stick fine. But they also said it will take 1-1.5 weeks for the process. Since I can't drive the truck with no bumpers that would be pretty rough to go that long without it.

 

Powder coating would be about the best way for long term durability at a reasonable cost.

As for being with them for a couple of weeks, you could go to an auto wrecker, or possibly a body shop and pick up a damaged bumper for next to nothing to put o the truck while yours is at the powder coater. Just a thought.

 

I painted my rear bumper and emblems with Plastidip and its only like 5 bucks at the local hardware store just clean off the bumper and very lightly spray on like 4 or 5 coats and it makes it nice and flat black

 

I looked into plastidip but it has trouble sticking to chrome according to some projects on here. When i paint it i want it to be more permanent.

 

I just sanded my stuff down reall nice and then cleaned it,primed it, painted and cleared it. Everything turned out amazing

 

i tried scuffing, then priming, then painting mine and it still came off , the plastidip but worked great for me. Hope it comes out looking good :smileup:

 

I plasti-dipped mine both front and rear too. Then I used the paint to match stuff from the auto parts store and now it looks like a sport model bumper front and rear. Overall cost me $50 and an afternoon. Has held up good for 6 months so far. Even with highway driving everyday to work. Only peeled where I scuffed a fence post at work.

Also, used a few coats of clear on top too.

 

Hmm. Did you scuff up the chrome before you Plasti-dipped it? If so what grit should I use to scuff? And do you scuff by hand or use a sander?

I suppose even if it didn't turn out good $50 isn't a big loss. My main concern is cold temperatures. I will be working in Yellowstone National Park from April-November and it is usually lows below freezing in April and late Oct-November. It seems like since it is plastic it would shrink/expand and come off.

 

Do it yourself man, its easy just TAKE YOUR TIME

http://www.ramforumz.com/showthread.php?t=95962 <--- Clicky

 

PM me with any questions too. ITs more time consuming than anything difficult wise, but Ive done a lot of painting before

 

Why not sell your crome stuff on E-bay and buy new black direct from MOPAR ? I would think this would be close to an even swap money wise.

 

i painted my chrome grille to match the black, sanded with 300 grit, cleaned then primed, 3 coats of paint then 3 coats of clear. not too bad for a novice painter.

before

after

 

Thanks for the info. I think I will definitely try at least my grill. If I think that goes well I will do the bumpers.

I still have quite a few questions.
-Where do you recommend I buy the primer and paint from? Just my local Autozone?
-Is a product like this worth looking at? http://www.autozone.com/autozone/ac...11-oz-black-flexible-aerosol-bumper-coating/_/N-2576?itemIdentifier=467217_0_0_
-Did you sand by hand or use a sander?
-Does it matter what color primer I use?
-I am wanting a flat black color for it all. If I put clear coats over the flat black will that make it glossy? Do you think it will be durable enough with no clear coats?

 

Check for answers in red

Thanks for the info. I think I will definitely try at least my grill. If I think that goes well I will do the bumpers.

I still have quite a few questions.
-Where do you recommend I buy the primer and paint from? Just my local Autozone? You can get everything needed from autozone. I used all Duplicolor products for mine. Just make sure to get an adhesion promoter and an etching primer wouldnt hurt either

-Is a product like this worth looking at? http://www.autozone.com/autozone/ac...11-oz-black-flexible-aerosol-bumper-coating/_/N-2576?itemIdentifier=467217_0_0_

You wouldnt need that. It is for bumpers that are flexible not metal ones like our Ram bumpers

-Did you sand by hand or use a sander?

For the initial sanding a sander wouldnt hurt for smoothing i wouldnt do it with anything but my hand for better control. at the end of the day it is your choice though

-Does it matter what color primer I use?

not really if your just going for a "plain" color

-I am wanting a flat black color for it all. If I put clear coats over the flat black will that make it glossy? Do you think it will be durable enough with no clear coats?


They make a matte primer. If you are going for that look it would be worth it to track a few cans of it down so you did have a clear over it. Otherwise you would be doing monthly touch ups

 

Just plasti dipped my rims and front grill. Took about an hour a rim (one at a time) and the grill took about 30 mins. So far it looks great and seems to be holding up pretty good. Total cost of rims and grill was $30. Going to attempt the bumpers this weekend, deciding whether i should remove them or just tape them off.

 

I'm considering doing the same thing with my grille, could you post some pictures on how your grille turned out?

 

So I noticed today that my grill feels like plastic. If it is plastic I don't need to use an etching primer do I? Should I just use a regular primer below the paint?

 

Grill is plastic but the nickel and chrome are a metal so after lightly scuffing with say 300 grit paper then a scotch brite pad, yes I would use an etch prime before color. If you want to clear it buy a flat or satin clear.
If you paint it black don't use a black primer.

 

Ah that makes sense. I will be stopping at Autozone today to pick up the materials and then working on it tomorrow. I will let you know how it goes!