Rusty Bumper

[roofingbloke]

What the hell, My very new chrome rear bumper is starting to show rust spots,

I fitted this new bumper last october & i have not used the truck on the road since,

[lakeroadster]

I see you are from England. Who did you get your bumper from?

First thing I do when I get new chromed parts is to lather it down real good with automotive paste wax and keep applying it on a regular basis. It seems the universal truth is that new chrome parts pretty much suck.

EPA requirements have pretty much destroyed the good "heavy" show chrome industry here in the USA, and the quality control in third world countries just isn't up to par with what used to be chromed here. The chroming process has some nasty chemicals.

Some vendors even go as far as to charge extra for "show" chrome. Basically because of all the regulations.

There are custom shops that will re-chrome a bumper for you. I got a budgetary quote from Advanced Plating, a local shop here in the Denver Colorado area, to rechrome my stock front bumper.... $850

[roofingbloke]

Gave it a good wax polish,

I got it from Brothers Trucks.

[Delmo]

Both of mine did the exact same thing. Not to mention you can you can bend them with your hands.

[dracko]

This is good to know I was just about to order up a front/rear. Are all the vendors selling the light duty junk bumpers?

[SuperWho]

Originally Posted by dracko

This is good to know I was just about to order up a front/rear. Are all the vendors selling the light duty junk bumpers?

x2 Guess I'm gonna go with the roll pan

[stevessierra]

this is a little out there, but i bought a used warn classic winch bumper for my gmc and dissasembled it and used orange citrus pumice hand cleaner on the small rust spots. just rubbed it on by hand, did it a circular motion for a minute or so. rust came right up. washed it all off and sparayed it with clear acrylic. hasnt come back. just an idea. hope it works for ya if you decide to try it. the pumice is light enough it shouldnt scratch it, but tough enough to lift it if its not more than the surface.

[dracko]

this is a little out there, but i bought a used warn classic winch bumper for my gmc and dissasembled it and used orange citrus pumice hand cleaner on the small rust spots. just rubbed it on by hand, did it a circular motion for a minute or so. rust came right up. washed it all off and sparayed it with clear acrylic. hasnt come back. just an idea. hope it works for ya if you decide to try it. the pumice is light enough it shouldnt scratch it, but tough enough to lift it if its not more than the surface.

Thats a good idea, so would it be wise to spray a new chrome bumper with clear acrylic then? It adheres okay to the chrome?

I have been tossin around the idea of powdercoating my bumpers with their "chrome" color. Heres a good comparison I found on the web: real chrome is out front.

[Dble Hump]

I like the powder coated look better than chrome. I think the chrome is over rated. I have all painted items. They started their life white (of course), but will be painting them gun metal gray. I have already completed the grill... Sorry, no pics yet.

[burbluv]

I am about to order a front and back bumber for my burb, does anyone else know of any suppliers out there who do not have crap for bumpers?
Thanks,
AJ

[k1rodeoboater]

AFAIK the only way to get a good chrome bumper is to get lucky and find an old one in good shape. All modern chrome seems to be crap. A good bit of the chrome on my 93 Harley is starting to show signs of rusting.

[andyh1956]

about 8 years ago i was at the pate swap meet & a i-don't-remember-who truck parts supplier had a new chrome bumper with a pretty nasty scratch about 2" long at a lower corner. he wanted $80 for it but i got it for $40. it is real heavy same as a stocker & it has been hanging in the barn all this time & still looks great!
andy