How do you take chrome off the front bumper??

[la hi]

The chrome on the front bumper is ugly! I would like to take the chrome off and paint it. To rechrome, it would cost more that to buy a new bumper from LMC.
So!! How do I take it off??

[mongocanfly]

https://m.wikihow.com/Remove-Chrome-Plating

[b-mac]

Damn, just read through the above link. I've messed around with Muriatic Acid a bit. I guess a 55-gallon drum, and you could soak half your bumper, then flip it and do the other half.
The biggest problem then would be what to do with 55 gallons of muriatic acid solution.

I would say a Dual Action Orbital Sander and some 80-grit sandpaper, and work your way to 220 grit.
It seems like abrasives are definitely the way to go.

[68blackbird]

Originally Posted by b-mac

Damn, just read through the above link. I've messed around with Muriatic Acid a bit. I guess a 55-gallon drum, and you could soak half your bumper, then flip it and do the other half.
The biggest problem then would be what to do with 55 gallons of muriatic acid solution.

I would say a Dual Action Orbital Sander and some 80-grit sandpaper, and work your way to 220 grit.
It seems like abrasives are definitely the way to go.

^^ I agree ^^

Just did exact same thing, it is in primer now, I'm confident it will work.

[vintovka]

Degrease and rhino line it?

[mongocanfly]

The guy I've been using for sandblasting says he has a grit that'll take chrome off

[b-mac]

I agree with above. A sandblaster could do it for sure.

I think you could do it yourself fairly easily too.

[dsraven]

I would say stay away from the acid deal. too risky if it gets on you somehow. also risky for others around the area and, like said, you can't usually just drop it off at the dump. it's a hazmat thing. it also eats concrete and other stuff. kinda hard to work with and not get some where it shouldn't be. if it was me, i'd be looking for a used painted bumper to trade (see classified's) or just bite the bullet and grab a new repop then sell the old chrome one to recover some cost. you could also try a rechrome place to see if they can remove the chrome for you. some rechrome bumper suppliers may be helpfull.

[OrrieG]

I just sanded mine with 80 grit then etch primed it, then sanding primer. Will be doing final paint in a few weeks, so far everything seems to be ok.

[MiraclePieCo]

Not sure why it's necessary to remove the chrome. If it's sanded, primed and prepped like any other surface, it will have plenty of "tooth" to hold paint. Deep scars can be covered with primer-surfacer.

[mr48chev]

One of my buddies has had a local machine shop that has a bake oven to put engine blocks and heads in bake the chrome off a number of old chrome steel wheels but I don't know if any of those ovens are big enough to put a bumper in. I think it melts the copper and nickle under the chrome and away it goes. The guy that bought my old 51 Merc painted the bumpers and I think he just took the DA to them and primed and painted them as Miraclepieco said.

[1project2many]

Muriatic acid can be neutralized with Lye. Both chemicals are very dangerous to work with. Muriatic acid will etch chrome well enough to allow paint to stick.

Chrome plating is deposited with electricity. The process can be easily reversed. Battery charger will be enough to get the process started. It takes time but you don't need to babysit. A random steel part connected to the charger negative lead will collect chrome. The bumper connected to charger positive will contribute chrome. Solution should be washing soda or baking soda and water. Be sure to check on part occasionally because in essence you are moving molecules of metal away from the bumper. It is possible given enough time to turn the bumper into nothing.

Read about "electrolytic rust removal" but connect the leads in reverse.

Some of the Wikihow suggestions were less than practical.

[b-mac]

While the above about electrolysis is true, similar to the acids, you would need some sort of vat to house the whole bumper, or at least a portion.

I feel like I could have already had the chrome stripped off with a couple of grinding discs in the time I spent typing on this thread.

[la hi]

good point!