Painting over Chrome (non A-body)

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DentalDart

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I traded in my daily driver for something a little bit newer and reliable for the family... now the dart can sit in the garage and soon I can give it the build it deserves.

The new truck is a 2019 Ram, but in not a big fan of chrome at least not as much as it has. I want to paint the grill, bumpers, and the rear mirror caps.

What is the best way to spray paint over all the chrome? Scuff it up with some 80 grit? Remove the chrome? Quit being cheap and just take it to the body shop and pay to have it done professionally? Lol. I'd rather try cheap before paying big bucks for someone else to do it... maybe in a year or 2 I'll stop being so cheap, but I just started working so I'm stuck in my poor college student mode still.

Thanks!

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You know they make a black out version that don't have chrome! Lol that would have been the easy and cheap way haha. Thats a nice truck I'd be scared to try and take it apart to paint anything on it. If you must i would probably just replace the grille with a blacked out one and delete all the badges and leave the bumpers chrome.
 
I by no means am condoning this venture. That being said, if you were paying me to do this, I would sand the bumpers with 80 grit with a dual action sander, spray it with Bulldog adhesion promoter, polyester prime them, sand that smooth and paint them and hope it sticks.
The grill is plastic. 80 grit would pretty much ruin it. Id probably go lightly with 150 or 220 and stay away from the edges too much. then repeat the procedure previously stated.
 
You know they make a black out version that don't have chrome! Lol that would have been the easy and cheap way haha. Thats a nice truck I'd be scared to try and take it apart to paint anything on it. If you must i would probably just replace the grille with a blacked out one and delete all the badges and leave the bumpers chrome.

I know there is, there is also the sport package... I love the sport package, because the hood is the best, I need to find one...

The reason I didn't get those packages is those trucks were more expensive. This truck is 2yrs old and has every option except a moon roof and was less expensive. So I'll spend a little to make it look how I want. My wife said to just take it to the paint shop lol.

Debadging will be happening today. I need to go get some goo be gone for the left over adhesive.

Also I'd rather leave the grill chrome if I had to but have the bumpers painted... I'll probably add aftermarket front bumper.

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I by no means am condoning this venture. That being said, if you were paying me to do this, I would sand the bumpers with 80 grit with a dual action sander, spray it with Bulldog adhesion promoter, polyester prime them, sand that smooth and paint them and hope it sticks.
The grill is plastic. 80 grit would pretty much ruin it. Id probably go lightly with 150 or 220 and stay away from the edges too much. then repeat the procedure previously stated.

Kind of what I was thinking... it's probably a better idea to pay for the shop to do it haha. Will a light scuff and primer be enough to hold the color matched paint you think? Shoot I also suck at doing most things which is the kicker...
 
Kind of what I was thinking... it's probably a better idea to pay for the shop to do it haha. Will a light scuff and primer be enough to hold the color matched paint you think? Shoot I also suck at doing most things which is the kicker...
Non of this is an approved procedure that could warrant a guarantee. It is difficult to get paint to stick to chrome. Best advise comes from Dartfreak. I bet a body shop would charge $2000 to do that if they would even consider it.
 
Non of this is an approved procedure that could warrant a guarantee. It is difficult to get paint to stick to chrome. Best advise comes from Dartfreak. I bet a body shop would charge $2000 to do that if they would even consider it.

Yea a lot of body shops do not like painting over chrome. I could always find a vinyl wrap to go over it, but they don't make it in the same color as the rest of the truck.
 
For god sakes, can you leave anything alone ?
First the Dart, and now this ?
That's a bitchen truck !
Leave the poor thing alone, and just drive it. :thumbsup:












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For god sakes, can you leave anything alone ?
First the Dart, and now this ?
That's a bitchen truck !
Leave the poor thing alone, and just drive it.
I REALLY don't like the chrome around the window openings.
 
I REALLY don't like the chrome around the window openings.

Neither do I. I found the black trim to go around the window openings, black 1500 emblems for the hood, black ram head for the tailgate and black caps for the rear view mirrors. So I'll probably do those instead of trying to paint them.
 
For god sakes, can you leave anything alone ?
First the Dart, and now this ?
That's a bitchen truck !
Leave the poor thing alone, and just drive it. :thumbsup:












.


The dart is doing great, thanks for asking! Daily drove that thing since I got out here and it just asks for more every time I turn the ignition. But it needs to be "restored" properly and not a cheaply as possible... oh it also needs much more HP.

No I cannot just "leave it alone." Thanks and I agree it is a bitchin truck, but I want to make it my bitchin truck. That requires less chrome, a lift and bigger tires.

This interior is amazing though, I won't touch a thing on the inside.

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The dart is doing great, thanks for asking! Daily drove that thing since I got out here and it just asks for more every time I turn the ignition. But it needs to be "restored" properly and not a cheaply as possible... oh it also needs much more HP.

No I cannot just "leave it alone." Thanks and I agree it is a bitchin truck, but I want to make it my bitchin truck. That requires less chrome, a lift and bigger tires.

This interior is amazing though, I won't touch a thing on the inside.

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Did you try moving it with the door ajar? Just wondering if they still stifle it.
 
Take it in and let someone wrap everything you want black. You will NOT get paint to stick to chrome without removing it completely and prepping the surface for paint.
 
Take it in and let someone wrap everything you want black. You will NOT get paint to stick to chrome without removing it completely and prepping the surface for paint.

I don't want it straight black, I'd prefer to to be color matched to the rest of the truck, which is Diamond Black Crystal.

I've been watching some videos and most people say you need to do a little sanding first. Maybe I'll go to the JY and grab some chrome trim and try a couple of things out. If I don't do a good job I'll look for a painter here in town to do it all.

This stuff seems cool, but black chrome look.
 
Knock it out, Paco. I'm tellin you here and now you're gonna have to sand so much, you're going to lose some shape to that bumper. But go for it. If they do it online, it's gotta be true, right?
 
Another option is see if you can buy a new set of the paintable rsm sport bumpers from the dealer. These will be in primer. Drop em off at a body shop to get painted to match, then bolt em on in a weekend, and sell your chrome ones on craigslist to recoup some of the cost. Ditto for the grille
 
take it all off and take the parts to a chrome shop to have them strip everything to bare metal. then you can paint it correctly
 
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