Painting flaking chrome grille?

Disclaimer: Links on this page pointing to Amazon, eBay and other sites may include affiliate code. If you click them and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission.

454cid

Sooper Pooper
Joined
Sep 5, 2010
Messages
8,009
Reaction score
8,890
Location
The 26th State
My grille is in rough shape. The chrome is flaking off, the badge is missing, and the top attachment points are cracked. I'm not interested in sanding it down and painting it body color.... nothing where I'm going to get a finish like you would on a body panel. Anybody here brush something on? What about something like a hammered finish paint? Painting over bedliner? I have a red truck, but I don't want a black grille. I've got a couple spray cans of autoparts store bedliner.... Duplicolor and Rustoleum, I think. I'm hoping for something that looks better than a highschool kids attempt at dressing up his wreck. I guess if it turns out too awful, I can throw one of my extra grilles on.

What have you done to your grille?
 

98chevy2500SS

Specializes in Accessories 101
Joined
Feb 10, 2017
Messages
3,512
Reaction score
4,143
Location
Iowa
If your chrome is flaking, I would just start peeling it all off. When you get it all peeled off, you can prep it and then paint it with the bed liner. Then it should look pretty good.

With the bed liner, you should wait at least 3-4 days for it to cure, once you painted the grille, I painted some stuff with Herculiner (very impressed with this stuff!), great texture, but doesn't stick in 6 hours. You need to let it sit and bake in the sun. Then I think you can just paint right over it with any color you want. You might want to do a light scuff of the surface with a Scotch-brite before you paint to ensure a nice bond.
 

454cid

Sooper Pooper
Joined
Sep 5, 2010
Messages
8,009
Reaction score
8,890
Location
The 26th State
If your chrome is flaking, I would just start peeling it all off. When you get it all peeled off, you can prep it and then paint it with the bed liner. Then it should look pretty good.

I'm not sure it's flaking enough to peel off easily, but enough to make it kinda ugly. I'll take a closer look at it..... I would at least scuff it up if I painted it, I just wouldn't sand it smooth.

There's a grille coming up for auction locally.... If it goes cheap, I might bid on it just to get the emblem. Maybe it's not cracked either.
 
Top