Polishing bare steel

[Figuarus]

Hey guys, quick question.

Have any of you polished your front steel bumper without actually re-chroming it?

My front bumper is currently painted, and I don't like the way it looks. I want to get some steel wool and strip the paint off, then try my hand and polishing the ever-loving piss out of it, and hope to end up with a semi-shiny front bumper.

Has anyone done this, or is re-chroming the way to go?

Before and after pictures would be great if you have them!

[Classic v6 GMC's]

I think that you could polish it if you use a good clear coat on it. Google turned up some cars that are polished. This link has a few. http://retrorides.proboards.com/thread/174639

[Slow Build]

Re-chroming can be very expensive. Another option would be powder coating. They have a chrome color. I'm not sure what it would look like next to actual chrome but it's an option.

http://www.eastwood.com/paints/hotco...-Powdercoating

[wilbur46]

I done it. The whole top of my 50 ford coupe! Apply WD40 or Kroil (smells better)every week.
Just keep using finer and finer grit wet and dry. Sand with contour of part, drink beer--repeat.
Look in a Hot Rod magazine for Jimmy Shine's bare metal rat rod truck.
(Sure he was workin' for Pete and Jake but the guy definitely has good ideas)
W.

[wbc409]

Depending what kind of shine/look/color you are looking for you could get the bumper nickel plated too

[theastronaut]

The cost of chroming isn't the actual "chroming" part. It's the prep work that goes into it before it's chromed. I doubt you're willing to spend the time and effort that it'll take to make them shine like chrome, then you'll have to constantly be fighting rust from starting. It's possible to make them look good, but keeping them looking good will be more of a chore.

I polished a steel stroker crank for my VW's stroker motor. It's a ton of work and it'll rust immediately if not constantly coated with oil. On a bumper, it's going to get hit with bugs- every single spot hit will start rusting as soon as its hit.

I promise, after you've polished just a single square-foot section the price of a reproduction bumper will look very cheap!!

[Figuarus]

Thanks for the replies guys.

Astronaut, i agree with you. I was going to polish it up and then clearcoat it to prevent rusting. I just want it to match the rear. Im having to go the poor mans way sinve all my cash is tied up in unexpected things and i need to keep myself busy.
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[Improbcat]

Something else to ponder is a chrome vinyl wrap. A 4'x5' piece would be enough to do a bumper(you'd have to do it in 2 parts and have a seam down the middle). That would run you $36. There are a lot of other sites selling it as well and a lot of tutorials online.

[Mackie]

One more option after polishing would be to use a new product from WD40 called specialist long term corrosion control.
Here:
http://www.dayattherange.com/?page_id=3667
is a very comprehensive test on a gun website that convinced me. You may not want to read ALL of it.
Clear coat, even the best, would be temporary and then you're faced with the task of stripping the coating to redo it.