Getting rid of the evil CHROME
12-13-2004 | 06:26 PM
#21
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Joined: Nov 2002
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From: Long Island, NY
Pics of finished painted bumper
Here are pictures of my recently painted flares and rear bumper. As said before I grinded down the rust, scuffed up the chrome with a wire brush, sanded it with 600grit sandpaper. I then layed down 2 coats of primer, 3 coats of paint, and 4 decent coats of clear coat. Then I sanded down the clearcoat smooth with 2000 grit sandpaper, then used a 3M rubbing compound, scratch remover, and then a coat of wax on top. It is not an exact match to the color of the truck, but it is fairly close. You can never get an “exact” match with a metallic paint so I’m told (I’m not worried anyone without a real eye for it will not notice anyway). It would have turned out better if I had a cleaner area to paint in, but I didn't and had to deal.
Before:
Hung and primered
Installed:
Close up:
I went from bushwacker street flares, to extend-a-fender type. I also tried something that I have not seen done yet. I used the factory rear flare with the intergrated mud-flap with the bushwacker flares. I've found that the factory flares are a bit wider maybe say 1"-1.25" past the rear quater panel's flare. Which leads to the factory flare part sticking out further than the rest. I'm going to try and shave the inner plastic to make it fit a bit more snug but so far it just looks ok. I will report back if I can make it work better.
Before:
Hung and primered
Installed:
Close up:
I went from bushwacker street flares, to extend-a-fender type. I also tried something that I have not seen done yet. I used the factory rear flare with the intergrated mud-flap with the bushwacker flares. I've found that the factory flares are a bit wider maybe say 1"-1.25" past the rear quater panel's flare. Which leads to the factory flare part sticking out further than the rest. I'm going to try and shave the inner plastic to make it fit a bit more snug but so far it just looks ok. I will report back if I can make it work better.
12-13-2004 | 07:36 PM
#23
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Joined: Jan 2003
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Originally Posted by turboale
Why spend $150 for something thats just going to get dented (and if you wheel more than fire roads it will)
But when I do smash it, I am gonna for one of those bad boys on your rig.
04-24-2005 | 09:42 AM
#24
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Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 64
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From: California
Honestly, I like the chrome front and rear bumpers rather than the painted ones. The reason is, let's say if another cars scratched my bumper in the rear or in the front when they are trying to move their cars out of a parallel parking (which is usually common on city street parking), they can't remove the chrome surface. but if the front and rear bumpers were painted, my paint would have come off and I would need touch-up paint to cover the area. so, I don't see any reason why you guys don't like the chrome bumpers and I am surprised to see that you guys would de-chrome the bumpers and then paint them. You will get scratches easily with the painted bumpers.
04-24-2005 | 01:49 PM
#27
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Joined: Mar 2003
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From: Lacey, WA
i've thought about putting in a chrome grill, mainly because i've been asked if my truck even has one(it's black and blends in very well). wouldn't look all that bad as all my trim is black from the factory with the exception of my chrome door handles, but i think they all had the same handles from '79-83. i just installed a set of vent shades that are chrome and they don't look too bad...
05-09-2005 | 12:49 PM
#28
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Joined: May 2005
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From: Mission, BC, Canada
The chrom coating on the grill... did you just sand it down a bit and paint? Or did you sand it right down to the black plastic underneath of the chrome then primer/paint?
My chrome is peeling, and Im not sure how I can do it black so it looks smooth without having to take ALL the chrome off first.
Thanks
My chrome is peeling, and Im not sure how I can do it black so it looks smooth without having to take ALL the chrome off first.
Thanks
Originally Posted by GregStevens
AW, I figured the best way to do the windshield trim was a good old, tried and true method of masking and newspaper. I used a buttload of newspaper to mask off the windshield and any parts of the rest of the rig that might get overspray. I used a sandable primer, but didn't sand any of it, and then used a nice black lacquer rattlecan. Dupli-Color, I believe.
Just masked off the WHOLE trim piece...not just the chrome middle section so that the whole thing would be a uniform black.
The key, I believe, is to make passes while painting. Never start or stop spraying on the piece that you are painting. Always start spraying off of it and stop when you are not on the target. That makes for a really good chance the coverage will be uniform and without any patches.
It's weathered quite well, in fact, it looks factory. I noticed a small rock chip on the pass. side mirror today...but that's easy to fix.
I'm liking the idea of a DIY bed liner on the bumpers the more I think about it. Just like in all painting, the key is in the prep work.
Hope that helps...but it wasn't a real detailed process. Just mask, rough it up a bit, prime and paint. Oh, I always use black primer...
Good luck...it shouldn't take you long to do and I like the look SOOOOOO much better without all the cheap chrome crap. Just gotta do the bumpers somehow now...
And the flares, they are going on the rig. I'm not selling them...I just haven't put them on yet.
Just masked off the WHOLE trim piece...not just the chrome middle section so that the whole thing would be a uniform black.
The key, I believe, is to make passes while painting. Never start or stop spraying on the piece that you are painting. Always start spraying off of it and stop when you are not on the target. That makes for a really good chance the coverage will be uniform and without any patches.
It's weathered quite well, in fact, it looks factory. I noticed a small rock chip on the pass. side mirror today...but that's easy to fix.
I'm liking the idea of a DIY bed liner on the bumpers the more I think about it. Just like in all painting, the key is in the prep work.
Hope that helps...but it wasn't a real detailed process. Just mask, rough it up a bit, prime and paint. Oh, I always use black primer...
Good luck...it shouldn't take you long to do and I like the look SOOOOOO much better without all the cheap chrome crap. Just gotta do the bumpers somehow now...
And the flares, they are going on the rig. I'm not selling them...I just haven't put them on yet.
05-09-2005 | 12:53 PM
#29
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Originally Posted by dannyh
The chrom coating on the grill... did you just sand it down a bit and paint? Or did you sand it right down to the black plastic underneath of the chrome then primer/paint?
My chrome is peeling, and Im not sure how I can do it black so it looks smooth without having to take ALL the chrome off first.
Thanks
My chrome is peeling, and Im not sure how I can do it black so it looks smooth without having to take ALL the chrome off first.
Thanks
05-09-2005 | 01:59 PM
#31
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Joined: Jan 2003
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Well, if your chrome is flaking off, then I would probably sand all the chrome off or buy another generic unpainted grill and paint it myself. It really depends on how bad we are talking here. Get a good primer intended for use on plastics. Your local automotive paint supply store should have what you need. Good luck!
03-23-2008 | 11:39 AM
#33
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Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 470
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From: Kenai, Alaska
I know this is an old thread, but I wanted to add to and update it a bit. Yesterday I made a trip to Home Depot and picked up the suppies to start my own dechrome project. I have Wheels on the way that are a solid matte black so that was step one. Step two was the grill.
Using the steps posted in this thread and just past projects I think it came out pretty good. After looking at many different paints I decided to go with this:
I went with that paint because of this statement on the back of it:
"Provides a durable protective coating, superior rust prevention, and high resistance to abrasion, chipping, fading and dulling." "Tough Enough for Industrial Applications". I'm hoping it will reduce the chance of chips mostly.
After looking at it mounted, I may paint those small pieces under the headlights with the same stuff (Only because there are tons of rock chips on them). Next step will be the trim pieces around the wheels. I was going to do those first, but the grill was much easier to take off....
Before and After Pic...
Using the steps posted in this thread and just past projects I think it came out pretty good. After looking at many different paints I decided to go with this:
I went with that paint because of this statement on the back of it:
"Provides a durable protective coating, superior rust prevention, and high resistance to abrasion, chipping, fading and dulling." "Tough Enough for Industrial Applications". I'm hoping it will reduce the chance of chips mostly.
After looking at it mounted, I may paint those small pieces under the headlights with the same stuff (Only because there are tons of rock chips on them). Next step will be the trim pieces around the wheels. I was going to do those first, but the grill was much easier to take off....
Before and After Pic...
Last edited by psraff; 03-23-2008 at 11:55 AM.
03-23-2008 | 02:18 PM
#35
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Joined: Nov 2006
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From: Kenai, Alaska
I'm in the process of getting a quote on a custom made rear bumper (will be Black). The front is going to be too pricy for me to change any time soon. So yeah, I may rhinoline it or something. I really like how the paint I picked covers any little screwups. I rushed the dry time on the emblem and when I put it on, I messed it up. I sanded it to smooth it out and touched it up and you can't even tell.
03-23-2008 | 02:46 PM
#37
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Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 470
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From: Kenai, Alaska
That crossed my mind, but I want a solid dark truck. But what I may do is take it off and paint the area behind it a midnight blue so it may stand out a bit more. Or maybe just paint the emblem the midnight blue... That's still up in the air.
03-23-2008 | 05:22 PM
#38
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Joined: Aug 2007
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From: tucson, az
I think it would look really good if you painted the emblem a gloss black to match the color of your 4runner, that way it's still dark but it makes the emblem stand out more. If i paint my grill black i was thinking about painting the emblem the same color of my 4runner, which is red.
03-23-2008 | 09:01 PM
#40
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Joined: Nov 2006
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From: Kenai, Alaska
