First i would like to thank CUUDAK for his great instructions. I wish I would have followed them better.
I started with a spare bumper that I had here. It was in bad shape with surface rust issues and generally faded very bad.
The first thing I did was sand the bumper. A large part only had to be scuffed with 320 grit using a DA sander. For the rusty spots I had to sand with 220 first and then the 320. I then sprayed the entire bumper with etching primer. For this any rattle can etching primer will work. I then used some body fill to fix a couple of gouges in the bumper and feathered it out to smooth the bumper. I sprayed some etching primer in those areas again just to make sure I didn't have any bare metal. That is where the first pic shows.
The second and third pics show the bumper after I sprayed 2 coats of high build primer and a light coat of black enamel to use as a guide coat. I let it sit overnight and then wet-sanded with 800 grit. This gave me a good surface for the next step.
After the sanding was done, I sprayed 2 coats of jet black base coat and 2 coats of clear. This is where I ran into my first problem. I had never sprayed clear before and was not sure how it was supposed to look when you spray it. I found out how it is not supposed to look the next morning. It looked more like 600 grit sandpaper than clear. I ended up sanding it all off and respraying the base/clear. This time it came out excellent as shown in pic number 4.
Now this is where you have to be more careful than I was as every little flaw will show up from here on. You must get all of the orange peel out of the clear coat. I missed some and now I can see it. You also must buff the clear at this point to get the black as shiny as possible. Another very important step here is to make sure the surface is clean of all contaminents.
It was time now to spray the Killer Chrome. You must do this in very light coats. You are just dusting it. It is very easy to get this step wrong as I found out. The flat surfaces are easy but the vertical surfaces are hard and if you spray to heavy it will show as blotches. I also found that when you are done this step don't be in to much of a hurry. Let it sit overnight before you wipe it with a very soft cloth very lightly. I ended up with a couple of streaks at this point. As this was a test bumper I sprayed 2 coats of clear at this point as I wanted to see the results of where I did it right and where I did it wrong. This will show in pic #5. I also still have a final wet sand and buff to do.
My conclusions:
Is Killer Chrome as good as real chrome. No, but it is not far off if done right.
If you have time and patience it will do the trick especially if you have fiberglass bumpers.
Prep work is paramount with this product. Make sure everything is clean at all times.
My total cost for 2 bumpers will be in the neighborhood of $300 with some materials left over for other work.
Would I recommend this product. YES, but you have to be careful and not be in a hurry.
Jack
I started with a spare bumper that I had here. It was in bad shape with surface rust issues and generally faded very bad.
The first thing I did was sand the bumper. A large part only had to be scuffed with 320 grit using a DA sander. For the rusty spots I had to sand with 220 first and then the 320. I then sprayed the entire bumper with etching primer. For this any rattle can etching primer will work. I then used some body fill to fix a couple of gouges in the bumper and feathered it out to smooth the bumper. I sprayed some etching primer in those areas again just to make sure I didn't have any bare metal. That is where the first pic shows.
The second and third pics show the bumper after I sprayed 2 coats of high build primer and a light coat of black enamel to use as a guide coat. I let it sit overnight and then wet-sanded with 800 grit. This gave me a good surface for the next step.
After the sanding was done, I sprayed 2 coats of jet black base coat and 2 coats of clear. This is where I ran into my first problem. I had never sprayed clear before and was not sure how it was supposed to look when you spray it. I found out how it is not supposed to look the next morning. It looked more like 600 grit sandpaper than clear. I ended up sanding it all off and respraying the base/clear. This time it came out excellent as shown in pic number 4.
Now this is where you have to be more careful than I was as every little flaw will show up from here on. You must get all of the orange peel out of the clear coat. I missed some and now I can see it. You also must buff the clear at this point to get the black as shiny as possible. Another very important step here is to make sure the surface is clean of all contaminents.
It was time now to spray the Killer Chrome. You must do this in very light coats. You are just dusting it. It is very easy to get this step wrong as I found out. The flat surfaces are easy but the vertical surfaces are hard and if you spray to heavy it will show as blotches. I also found that when you are done this step don't be in to much of a hurry. Let it sit overnight before you wipe it with a very soft cloth very lightly. I ended up with a couple of streaks at this point. As this was a test bumper I sprayed 2 coats of clear at this point as I wanted to see the results of where I did it right and where I did it wrong. This will show in pic #5. I also still have a final wet sand and buff to do.
My conclusions:
Is Killer Chrome as good as real chrome. No, but it is not far off if done right.
If you have time and patience it will do the trick especially if you have fiberglass bumpers.
Prep work is paramount with this product. Make sure everything is clean at all times.
My total cost for 2 bumpers will be in the neighborhood of $300 with some materials left over for other work.
Would I recommend this product. YES, but you have to be careful and not be in a hurry.
Jack
