[morgan]

like the title says...

i took of the emblem off the front and painted it black. I really like it and it got me thinking how good it would look to paint the chrome around the grill and bumper black also. My truck is silver. just seeing if anyone had pics of this and what you used to do it/ the process involved.

opinions and pics are greatly appreciated!

 

[Jordo]

I did!
And it got so chipped up over the winter time cuz of all the sinders on the road.
I think my paint prep, may have not been good enough.
Im getting it powder coated soon any way. (bumpers)

 

[ScottXGTR]

^^^^ same here. mine is chipped as well. i did decent paint prep too scuffing the shtuff outta the chrome.

look into powdercoating or make sure you get the chrome off before painting. otherwise youll be looking at touching it up a year later.

 

[PeeWee]

I don't know if the chrome used on 2nd gens is the same type of stuff as on the 1st gens, but I peeled all of the chrome off my grille last weekend and painted it black. If it is the same, you can use a razor blade and get a small piece started and then peel off big strips fairly easily.

 

[5speed_Frontier]

Isn't that chrome stuff really just plastic though. Not sure if you could powdercoat it. I was thinking about maybe getting it vinyl wrapped I wonder? Not sure if anyone else has tried it or thought about it.

 

[Eury]

Isn't that chrome stuff really just plastic though. Not sure if you could powdercoat it. I was thinking about maybe getting it vinyl wrapped I wonder? Not sure if anyone else has tried it or thought about it.

On the grille, yes. Bumper, no. The bumper is metal and is real chrome.

 

[scooter2131]

Isn't that chrome stuff really just plastic though. Not sure if you could powdercoat it. I was thinking about maybe getting it vinyl wrapped I wonder? Not sure if anyone else has tried it or thought about it.

They actually plate the plastic pieces with paladium then nickel and then crome plate the nickel...(it might all be electroless; not sure)....there was just a Modern Marvels episode on about chrome and they showed a factory that was doing grilles for all sorts of trucks....actually the b-roll they had going when they were describing the process showed Jeep Liberty, Ford F series and .....drumroll..... Frontier grilles at various stages of the process.

Technically, I guess you could scuff up the chrome and powder coat by applying some voltage to the thin coating of metal that's on the plastic but I have no idea how well that would actually work.

Can't find the episode (or much mention of it) online right now, but they are selling the DVD of it?!?
Modern Marvels: Chrome DVD

And here's a website that has a transcript of the episode....read starting at about 17 minutes into the program:
Modern Marvels - Chrome - Thursday, Apr 29, 2010 - mReplay LiveDash TV Transcript: Search Live TV, Twitter, Facebook, News, Blogs, Video sites and other real-time social networks

 

[morgan]

sorry it took a while to get back to you guys.... i may hold off on the grill and bumper.... thinking of line x on both bumpers and possibly grill not sure though. i think for now i am going to bedline the wheels. here are some pics of my first "mods". let me know what you think

 

[morgan]

Moar!!

 

[scooter2131]

Moar!!

Nice! I was just going to ask if you had any pics of the painted emblem back on your grille. That looks sweet!

 

[morgan]

ya they are cell phone pics i snapped in the parking lot up at work sooo not the best in the world but you get the idea. i'm just not a big fan of all the chrome on these trucks. i've been looking and i'm not sure what to do about bumpers/grill. i'm worried if i go too far it may wind up looking like some stripped down work truck/base model.

 

[blb228]

This may be helpful: Painted my grill today... - Tacoma World Forums

I just don't know whether to paint my grille flat black or color match it to my Storm Gray Metallic....

 

[Irish Steel]

I Bedlined my front bumper. I think it turned out real good. I can have some pics up soon.

 

[blb228]

Pics please, and what bedliner product did you use?

 

[ksdtoday]

To paint chrome you need to scuff the heck out of it. I use a sand paper flap wheel on a grinder, then follow it with a DA working from 80 grit to 220. Then I use dupli-color self etching primer, then use a really good enamel paint.

 

[silvrbreez]

Mine has been painted silver to color match and then I did the black Grillcraft inserts. You can see pics in the link to my part-out thread in my signature.

 

[rorybellows]

i herculined the grill and am waiting for the cruddy washington weather to end so i can do the bumpers. i think im gonna shoot the grill and the bumpers with a layer of black spray paint as the herc fades pretty quickly