Now that summer is approaching, the sun is now beaming down into the interior of my vehicle and reflecting off all the small pseudo chrome trim pieces. I have seen more than several threads detailing the painting of interior panels to their owners liking.

I am wondering what kind of surface preparation was performed to get the best adhesion to these plasticsed chrome pieces. Plus what kind of paint was used. Mine is the Grey interior, so the color will most likely be a gray. Thanks.

Or does anybody have any other suggestion to get rid of the reflections.

 

Sunglasses?

 

See here:

https://www.chevyhhr.net/forums/appearance-modifications-discussions-6/getting-chrome-free-last-17862/

 

Thanks Jeff,

That is exactly what I am looking at doing. The flat black looks good with your black interior too. I will also do the AT shifter ring.

Looks like you and I see eye-to-eye on the chrome issue.

How is the paint job holding up? The other thread says you have now painted it twice.

I'm on my way down to the local auto paint supply place to see what they say about prepping the chrome for adhesion.

 

The chrome on the plastic should be able to be sanded enought to get adhesion, or if you can get the chrome pieces off you could try oven cleaner to remove the chrome.

As for the chrome on the inner door handles those should actually have the chrome removed by reversing the electroplating proccess. Any chrome plater should be able to do it cheaply. They will have to be removed from the car for this. If you just want to try painting without removing the chrome sand it first. It will take a little work as chrome has a very hard finish. Spray it with a self etching primer (Duplicolor makes it in spray cans). Then finish in whatever color you like.

 

Can Plastic be electroplated? The door handles are plastic too. As for the sanding prep, yes that is what the Auto Paint place said to do and also supplied(sold) me a can of plastic bonding primer.

I don't believe any of this is TRUE Chrome, just a very hard, possibly a two part catalyzed paint. Just my guess. I took a razor blade and easily cut some away from the base plastic, I don't think I could do that with a true chrome job.

 

Yes, but you can bet the farm none of ours is.

 

My mistake then, I did not realize the door handles were plastic..... If they are then sanding or oven cleaner should work on them too

 

Before you paint them, sand them down as best you can and then apply Duplicolor Adhesive Promoter. It helps the new paint stick much better. (You can get it at Autozone for about $5) Follow that up with a good quality primer and then paint.

 

OK, I am finally getting around to painting those chrome pieces that will get a lot of wear, like the inside door handles. In the past I painted(1*) the center console vent rings and the transmission shift trim. While I have nothing bad to say about the job I did on those pieces. The door handles will get a bit more wear and I only want to do this once.

I have removed the passenger inside door handle completely from the door panel and started to sand it down, broke the pin retainer bulge at the pin end in the process of removal. In another thread I noticed I am not alone in breaking this pin. With sanding I am finding a layer of copper colored material below the Chrome. Would this be indicative of an electroplating process or just another color of “plastic primer”? The sanding is going very slowly.

Update:
To my surprise it turns out these Chrome door handles are “real” electroplated Chrome, not paint or enamel. The door handle does have some markings on it such as “PC/ABS”. A search reveals PC/ABS to be “Polycarbonate Alloy ABS”. A plastic that is capable of being electroplated. A very strong magnet will reveal an attraction if there is any doubt.


(1*)I lightly sanded the original trim pieces and primed, painted the base coat and top coated with a clear finish. They have held up well for the last several months.