How do i paint my bumpers?

Tips please -- on how I can paint my bumpers.


(my chrome is lousy and i want to paint them)

 

Only right way is to strip all the old chrome off them prime and paint on bare metal. Just my opinion.

 

Then you will have that "monochromatic look" that was so popular in the 80-90's!

 

why not have them re-chromed? just a thought

 

/\ /\ What he said! /\ /\

 

Not sure I am fully following what you want to do. Do you want to just paint them like black or something or are you hoping to have the chrome look with paint. If you just want them painted then strip down and paint. If you want the chrome then get em re-chromed is the only way. Any paint that claims to look like chrome ends up looking like ****. There are some powder coatings that looks close to chrome, but only chrome will look like chrome. Maybe clarify what you are looking to do and others may have some advice.

 

Please!!! Paint is for the body of the car,fences,houses and artists,but NEVER BUMPERS!

 

i have seen on a watson car (green/white plymouth i think) partially painted bumpers

 

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=935911&stc=1&d=1269579587
and on the spotlights, seen it on hubcaps to. I'd like to know as well.

 

^^^ I'm sure there are plenty of decent places in the state of GA. I love the HAMB family, but if I ONLY went to places that were highly recommended by HAMBers... I'd never get anything done.


On a separate note. I just did a flaked roof for a buddy of mine using a "chrome" flake. The roof looked good but I was amazed how close to the shine of chrome we produced. Wonder what a bumper done in a full chrome flake would look like??? (on the right custom of course)
http://www.tcpglobal.com/kustomshop/ksflake.aspx

 

BLUE PAINT - is what i'm looking to use NOT chrome or re-chrome


To match the color of the car

 

****ty chrome is better than painted bumpers.

 

This paint looks pretty good. Dont know about the cost or longevity though...

www.sprayonchrome.com

 

if you have some one around that blasts with aluminum oxide 120 grit it works perfect to profile the chrome with out peeling it off use some acid etch seal on them then prime and do your blocking and filler work ive painted a few bumpers this way and it works fine ..

 

i was pretty nervouse about painting mine at first, i didn't want the car to look cheap, but i went for it and everyone likes the outcome, totally changed the look and at***ude of the car.
i sanded them down with a flap disc on my grinder, filed and imperfections, primed with a self etching primer and then painted with a single stage UNO gloss black.
they still look great, no chips or scratches

 

Sandblast and then sand with 36 grit ,Make sure you get down to the nickel plating .And then do the bodywork ,like usual .Its alot of work ,So be prepared .After you 36 them for a few hours Da with 80 .Object here is to get rid of the shine ,People will say to epoxy them .Im just telling you how I did my old chevelle bumpers ,I never had any problems 15 years .I did it the old fashioned way ,laquer primer and nitrostan ,

 

Only 2 ways to do bumpers, Chrome or gone!

 

Not everyone. I think it looks awful. Sorry man, but even worn chrome looks better than painted bumpers.

 

i cant wait to paint my rear bumper red metal flake!

 

oh my!!

 

x2.

 

FWIW there are painting processes that will simulate chrome extremely well these days such as Chrome FX, Spectra Chrome etc that many people seem to be happy with. Here in Deeeetroit, you would be surprised just how many concept cars use spray-chrome these days...it's just faster to mold the part off of the clay model than it is to fab it up in metal and once you have the part in fibergl***, carbon fiber etc painting it to look like metal is a very quick solution.
Ask around your area body shops to see if anyone does these processes near you.

 

Is that a Cadillac in your avatar? I couldn't tell until I saw the sticker on the rear window.

 

As they say... close but no cigar. The stuff that looks good is as expensive as chrome and not as durable. And it is not quite chrome.

 

I am ***uming that you will be having someone else do the work..so..For the cost of having some one strip, prep and paint your bumper with decent paint that wont flake off in a month you can find a chrome front bumper.


However, if you must..blast it ...sand it down...prime and paint

 

You could also powder coat them in an aluminum finish. I saw a real nice aluminum look on an old truck a while back, the owner said they were powder coated, it looked aged a little too if you are runnin with that stlye.

For the record... I like chrome best, but we do not get to make those decisions, our budgets do.

 

x3.

 

Please reconsider. Painting chrome is like drawing a moustach on the Mona Lisa. Just because you could does not mean you should. I have never seen a case where it looked better,just dumb.

 

Painted bumpers are like the music of the '80s-'90s. Same time period, Still lame.

 

The stuff we've done here in our shops looked pretty good to my eyes and I'm one picky sum*****!!

As for durability, again my only experience is use with it on concept car-turntable queens so it only has to be the mildest form of durable...on a real car, in the the real world, you're right, it probably would not hold up...I didn't mean use it as a final solution, only a FWIW and maybe a temporary stop-gap solution until you can spend the coin on gennie chrome...

So when you can, spend the money-chrome it....maybe you should attend an AACA meet and ask them who they like to do their chroming...the restoring crowd usually knows who does the best chrome in their region.