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Posted by: Driver174 May 15 2020, 01:20 PM

Has anyone stripped chrome, and painted their bumper? Looking for advice for a do it yourself-er.

Thanks,
Jim

Posted by: ValcoOscar May 15 2020, 01:32 PM

Lots of elbow grease.

I've done more than a few.

I pressure washed, repaired mounting threads, straightened, welded up as needed, beadblasted, bodywork, prime & paint (Epoxy)

If threads are bad, I open up hole and weld in a stainless M8 x 1.25 nut!!!

Oscar

Posted by: bob164 May 15 2020, 01:34 PM

Looks great Oscar!

Posted by: seanpaulmc May 15 2020, 03:00 PM

Going backwards from what the OP asked...

Is it possible to unpaint a painted chrome bumper and have it look decent?
Method?
Tools?
Products?

TIA!

Posted by: mepstein May 15 2020, 03:09 PM

It depends what is under the paint. I've seen fiberglass, bondo ad stick welds.

Posted by: IronHillRestorations May 15 2020, 03:12 PM

If I were going to paint a chrome bumper, I'd probably try and find a painted one first. Like Oscar said, it's a lot of work.

Paint doesn't want to adhere to chrome, so you've got to media blast it or etch it with acid. The other concern is if you cut through the chrome in some places and not others it could cause it to lift. If you've got to pound out dents it too can make the plating crack, peel, and lift.

Posted by: IronHillRestorations May 15 2020, 03:15 PM

Like Mark said, it all depends on what they did to paint it.

If the paint is on really good, I'd probably pass on trying that as the chrome is going to be scratched, sand blasted, or acid etched and may not shine again.

Best bet is to hold out for a good bumper, but they've gotten on the $pendy side

Posted by: Driver174 May 16 2020, 12:38 AM

A set of those black ones is what I'm after; those look good!

My chrome ones are not prefect, and need dents repaired. What is the best method of removing the chrome plating? Or should I just sand blast or bead blast them to rough them up?

Posted by: jmitro May 16 2020, 06:43 AM

As an aside, I had a chrome plated Boxster wheel sandblasted and powdercoated. But I had to take it to an industrial sandblaster.

I tried the usual methods like oven degreaser on the chrome, and that didn't touch it

Posted by: bkrantz May 16 2020, 09:42 PM

PO for my car went full black-out, and painted the bumpers, trim, and anything else that was shiny with black. And did a nasty job sanding everything first, including the bumpers.

Now I am trying to undo this, and restore the original 1973 2 liter look. My bumpers are in good shape besides the paint. I keep watching for chrome bumpers in 90% condition so I do not have to pay for re-chroming, but have not seen anything at a decent price.

Posted by: Mark Henry May 17 2020, 11:17 AM

A form of annealing, a thick rim can take the heat, the bumpers are IMO are too thin and will warp with heavy sand or shot blasting. If you take them to a plating outfit they can remove the chrome, it's one of the first processes of re-chroming.