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Wed Mar 08, 2006 7:44 pm

I want to do something about the chrome bumpers on the Syncro. The chrome looks cheesey and cheap.

At the very least, I'd like to successfully prime them and either wrinkle paint them flat black or cover them with a "Rhino Liner" material.

I've tried in the past to get paint to adhere to chrome on my HD but had no luck.

Any suggestions?

Thanks

Wed Mar 08, 2006 7:59 pm

im not sure you are gonna have too much luck with this. if i really wanted to paint over chrome, i would probably try grinding the chrome plating off of the part itself. then try to use a high build primer to "cover" the grind marks. but this still isnt a good idea, because grinding can warp a metal part or just plain tear it up. maybe someone else will have a better suggestion.

Thu Mar 09, 2006 6:19 am

You could try glass beading it-might rough it enough. Don't put heavy coats on. Lighter coats seem to stick better.

Thu Mar 09, 2006 7:36 am

You're going to have to use zinc-chromate primer over the chrome. Zinc-chromate is very thin and adheres to non-porus surfaces, such as aluminum, magnesium, and others.

Thu Mar 09, 2006 10:40 am

The best/easiest way , but not the cheapest , is take them to a chrome shop and have them stripped . They dip them and off comes the chrome & nickel , and if they are tripple plated (doubt it on a late model production rig) the copper , leaving you with a bare steel part to paint . No grinding or special procedures needed . TROY

Thu Mar 09, 2006 11:18 am

I bought single chrome plated bumpers (cheapies) and easily sanded through to the metal. Even modified the rear for tail lights after they were stripped. These are on a bug, but the process is easy regardless of what the bumpers fit. Here are some pictures of how the bumpers turned out.

Thu Mar 09, 2006 12:38 pm

When i get people that want chrome bumpers painted i do this: D\A sand with 220 grit really well then clean with a metal rinse and prime with an etching primer. When that is dry i give the etch prime a quick scuff with some red scotchbrite and prime with a catalized primer, prep and paint and have always had great results.

Thu Mar 09, 2006 3:57 pm

Tips range from "it's not possible" to "it's worth a shot".

Thanks for the input. I think I'll give it a try.

Vanagon bumpers are cheap enough...

Thu Mar 09, 2006 4:34 pm

You can also sandblast , but will have more finish prep before painting , would work well for the bedliner coating though . TROY

Fri Mar 10, 2006 8:25 pm

Hey i bought some paint from Mid America motorworks www.mamotorworks.com and it was designed for painting over chrome. I painted a chrome 36 horse style Scat shrouding i had. it worked pretty good. I sprayed it on then painted over it with some black paint. When i bought the shrouding all they in stock was the chrome ones. i wanted black and now it is. My shrouding is not exposed to as much environment as the bumpers would be.But so far its holing up good. Brian