I have a chrome grill. From what I have read here, you are not able to paint over the chrome and have to peel the chrome off first? Also, do the after market grilles, such as shown in this thread, usually fit without much alteration? Thanks.

 

Cooking on a Chrome Grill? Interesting. I have a Chrome Grille on mine with 'Ghost Lettering' of 'CHEVROLET' on it.

 

Um, hope my grill/grille does not get hot enough for cooking :-). My 2010 HHR LT has chrome most everywhere and thought a black grille would look good. Thinking about making mine into a black 3 bar (so the question on painting the chrome) or an aftermarket variety would be fun.

 

Here's my black aftermarket with painted bowtie, painted the chrome part black to match the grille.

 

there you go - I reposted the BB code, and removed the "thumb" reference for you.

Sweet looking grill BTW!!!

 

there you go - I reposted the BB code, and removed the "thumb" reference for you.

Sweet looking grill BTW!!![/QUOTE]

Thanks

 

Looks nice.

 

That is incorrect! Whoever gave you this info was not speaking from experience.

I have painted over my factory grill and hub caps.

You just get some 409 or degreaser, and make sure they are completely clean. (You will need to get into every crevice so this is the annoying part)

MAYBE get some very fine grit sand paper. I forgot if I used sandpaper or not but if I did, it would have been 2000-4000 grit (I can't remember if they even make 4000 - sorry, it's been a while)

Then get some plastic primer (I used krylon)

Let it dry for a week or more (the more the better - which is hard, since you probably need to drive your car - however, if you can avoid the freeway and want to risk a small rock getting thrown in the radiator grille, you can drive around without the grill on (I did, had no problems around town)

After that, I used gloss enamel (it has the gloss/clear coat built in it, so no need for clear coat for that nice shine)

I also painted my wheels with pink fluorescent marking paint, THEN after it faded, I did a little sanding and then the white gloss enamel. (primer, pink fluorescent, sanding, gloss enamel)

So far, after a year or more, the hub caps still look great. The only parts that are chipping are the insides there the bolts go (I did not think to really get in there good). Same for my front grille with plastic chrome paint. Although I did notice one chip, which cause caused by a rock making an indent in the grill itself)

I messed up the second coat of gloss enamel - it was 50f out and I did not wait till it was warmer to do the second coat - so it did the orange peel effect. You don't notice it unless you are up close, and I'm not concerned with looks too much, so I left it. I will fix it when I notice it has faded drastically (it already has noticeable fading, so likely soon - possibly with matching factory paint if it's cheap enough)

I have also painted the rings around the vents, trim ring around the shifter knob, and the plastic insert that holds the rubber thing (in front of the shifter knob)

I plan to paint the little strip on the doors, the grey pieces on the steering wheel, and the plastic chrome painted door handles. My exterior is white, and most of the interior is black, so I am doing a black and white theme.

I can gladly take DIY pics/videos of the whole process, since I wanted to fix the paint on the grille anyway. It's very easy and I have never really painted much in my life.

Personally, I painted the big top grille, and bought a billet insert for the bottom for $35 or so. I don't like the look of the big billet grille and it costs too much, IMO.

PM me for further info/help

https://i.imgur.com/vGF8baH.jpg

 

 

I like the red!! Its easier to find at the hospital parking lot!!