I painted my grill when I cut the bow tie off, & made it a 3 bar. I sanded the "chrome" with 320 grit wet sandpaper, primed with epoxy primer, base coat, then clear. Dings in the chrome were filled with polyester glazing putty & sanded smooth. I used body shop grade materials sprayed with a spray gun.

Over a year later only a couple of tiny tiny chips. I put a lot of miles on this winter on the PA turnpike, & got blasted by salt trucks half a dozen times. The salt blasted holes thru my gutter guard grill inserts, but didn't harm the finish.