painting (chrome) bumpers

Don't have the resources to get new/rechromed bumpers right now so......

Q: What's the process of painting over the chrome bumpers so the paint will stick?

Tom

As chrome is very hard I would suggest getting them media blasted. Then etch prime, epoxy, urethane and then single stage color or base coat clear coat .

is there a reason he can't just sand them to ruff them up, primer them, then paint 'em? with money being tight, i'm sure he doesn't want to have to pay to have it sand blasted...but i could be wrong. i would try what i suggested unless someone can give a reason why it wouldn't work...

there's a member here with painted bumpers, black i think. i just saw it in a post today. hopefully they will chime in soon

You might try scouting around for a presentable used pair. Maybe check with a local club or Craigslist. I've seen some very good used bumpers for less than you'd spend prepping and painting an existing set. Boston Area CL had a guy giving away some that looked pretty good in his photos.

Products like Gliptone polish and others can dramatically restore a lot of chrome pieces as well.

FWIW

How bad are your bumpers? If they are not bent, try rubbing them with aluminum foil dipped in water. Took the rust off my bumpers without scratching them.

Joe and Barb Hahn have black bumpers. Powder coated(?).

Hey Mark,

Its called Gliptone Metal Polish. Treated Cotton Pad. I use medium and ultra or extra fine. The label on the course says not to use on chrome.

I have had great results on bumpers, luggage rack, etc. Not sure if it would solve your issue but here's what I've have found.

When chrome is too far gone there is nothing you can do short of replating. But what offen happens is that all those tiny pits and cracks "blead out" a rusty wash sort of coating and the chrome looks terrible. The treated cotton has chemicals in it (wear rubber gloves and don't lean to far in breathing the stuff) that attack the rust. It takes a fair amount of effort, but once the rusty wash is gone you get back to just the clean chrome. The pits are still there because the chrome is gone in those spots but you don't have all the rusty build up. Like lava errupting out of a volcano. You clean all the old slag away and there is a fairly smooth surface without a lot of discoloration.

That's the cleaning part. The stuff apparently contains polish because when you wipe it off it shines up well.

I have chrome wires on my car and probably each wheel has 3 or 4 spokes that have rusted. Once a season I go over the them with the Gliptone and the rusty spokes are hard to tell from the good ones.

I had some pics of some Midget bumpers that I had posted for sale but can't seem to find them right now.

My experience is totally unscientific but I've tried a lot off products in the 50 years that I've been messing with LBCs and its the best I've found. Not cheap. $14 for a fist sized wad of the cotton stuff. But hey, it works for me.

I don't think I've every seen a B with painted chrome bumpers. Might start a new fad :)

Naomi, Joe and Barb post under the name Bealey (their car).
Here is a link showing their avatar.
<http://www.mgexperience.net/phorum/read.php?1,1695836,1696163#msg-1696163>

Theres also a member, I think from Texas, who has a white B with blacked out bumpers and such. Looks good in my opinion, thinking seriously about doing my BGT that way.

Thanks for the flowers Joe!
Tom, I saw your post earlier in the day, and didn't respond for a simple reason. The method I used was not particularly inexpensive.
First off, I found another set of bumpers to use in my modification so that I have the correct bumpers and uprights in case I want to return my car to its "as delivered" look. Then I had the "new" bumpers blasted and powder coated. I managed to catch a good deal from a powder coating operation here in Dallas, simply because the shop manager was an expatriated Brit, and he fell in love with my ratty-assed ole B. He charged me $150 for the whole process which I thought was a smokin' good deal. He just happened to have a batch of other parts that were going to be using the same shade of dark grey that I wanted. Synchronicity paired with blind luck. If I'm not mistaken, the job should have run between $200 and $300 for the two pieces, and as you can see from the photos, I left the uprights off (less to spend money on).
As far as sanding and painting chrome, anything is possible, but I think you will be spending a lot of time and energy on a task that will give a mediocre result at best.
I'm not trying to be negative, but I gave this task quite a bit of thought before I proceeded the way I did. I was trying for a particular look, and got what I was after.
In the meantime,

Have fun

You should be able to find a sandblaster who’ll do them cheaply (may prime them too) and that will give a good key for the paint.
Paul ;-)

I believe you will need to remove the chrome and the nickel plating to get a good result. If you take the parts to a chroming specialist they will dip the parts and chemically remove the existing plating and polish out any rust which can be treated. See the attached link on stripping the chrome. If you go down this route them you are half way to getting the parts replated.

http://www.derbyplating.co.uk/the-process/

If the paint does not work you will end up having to dump the bumpers for replacement or go back to replating.

I would opt for good secondhand parts ... or, alternatively why not try vynyl wrapping the bumpers in chrome effect material, it worked for Aston Martin.

http://www.totally-dynamic.co.uk/go/news/aston-martin-uk-is-dazzled-by-totally-dynamic-news-story.html

TJS

If you want to keep the chrome, try using a rust convertor to get rid of the rust then use a non abrasive metal polish to bring back the shine.

just go all out and upgrade to rubber bumpers - they are already black, easy to paint, and great protection in parking lots -- :> :)-D
ric

I've had more than my share of experience with chrome bumpers. It would probably take a vary talanted sand blaster to remove the chrome and nickle while not blowing through the much softer steel...you might be able to grind if off but again you'll be loosing steel.

The only effective way I know to remove chrome is chemical stripper. FWIW, that stripping is about half the cost of rechromeing. Take some 100 or 80 grit to it with a power sander, rough it up and paint.

You can achieve a reasonably durable finish using SEM's adhesion promoter (most decent parts stores will carry it and I think Eastwood also sells a similar product), meant to be used for exactly this type of application.

• Clean the bumpers with any type of pre-paint prep, wax remover/de-greaser
• Carefully sand with 300 grit, then 600 grit wet/dry paper using plenty of water to keep the paper lubricated and from grinding the sanding residue into the finish
• Clean again with the prep solvent of your choice and let dry completely
• Spray on the adhesion promoter (goes on like a semi-clear primer), let dry completely (very important)
• Spray a coat of primer - for rattle can stuff, I favor SEM products for their higher solid content - and then paint with your favorite color. For a bumper I would spray two good coats and a coat of urethane clear or similar protectant finish.

I've used this method over both metal and plastic with good results. The only difficult part is that each step, except the final paint coat, is a one-shot deal. If you sag or run the adhesion promoter or primer, you get to start over so be patient. This is one of those occasions where following the advice on most rattle cans to spray a test piece first,is well worth heeding. Otherwise, it's a straightforward process.

Years ago I painted some bumpers, just rubbed them down well and a couple of coats of rattle can satin black. They looked good and stood up fairly well.

The thing I find odd is how hard it was to get the the P.O.'s 'over-spray' off of the chrome bumpers my car. I just sold them not long ago because I'm doing the Sebring thing front and rear. And I sold them at a "My Fellow MGEer's Rate."

The cheapest chrome cleaner I've found is Brasso (about $3.00 at Walmart). It has an acid and jeweler's rouge in it. Use it with old old terry towels and t-shirts to see how it does. It can be used with a buffing wheel it will clean off rust and polish the chrome. It your bumpers are truely rust coated, just sand them and spray them with a can of etching primer and the paint will adhere for about 15 bucks.

I've got a Harley muffler I want to paint. I think I'll try David Church's suggestion. I don't like the look of a teenager's fart can muffler.
John

Following through on Davids recommendation, I believe most corner parts strores carry an etch primer...medium light olive color. Not sure it its the same as the SEM product but it is what is used to lightly etch aluminum etc where sanding might leave marks.

Bob, I used the Etching Primer as a guide coat for some body work I'm doing. The light Olive color is so appealing to me I'm thinking about doing the car in that color! I think Jaguar Sage is close.

Very many body parts sold in the 40s and 50s came with that same color etch coating. Indeed Jag Sage would be near the color in a finish coat. I make external sunvisors out of aluminum and use it to hide the mild scratches that occur in the manufacturing process. Might sparkle with a top coat of clear coat.