I have a chrome grille surround and I want to PTM. I know nothing about painting and I want it to look factory. I asked a local custom paint shop and they said they couldn't paint it. I had to get a paintable surround. Is this true or are they wanting to get more $$? They said they could sand and paint the bumper pad and mirror covers no problem but not the chrome surround. I would think that they could sand it down to bare plastic and the paint would hold, but maybe not? I may look to another shop but I was just wondering what other people had to say. Any advice would be great.

 

It can be done with proper prep, a lot of us have. Most of us didn't even sand it down to bare plastic. You could always do the prep and primer it yourself and then take it in and tell them you got a paintable surround so they'll do it ha.

 

After scuffing with a maroon scotch brite pad and wiping it down with paint prep sol or mineral spirits, a couple of coats of self-etching primer (yellowish in color and available in aerosol) is a tried and true method from posts I've read in another forum. The self-etching primer bonds chemically to the chrome. This will allow a smooth finish.

If you don't mind a slightly rougher finish, I used Duplicolor spray-on truck bed liner (aerosol) and top coated it with a decent quality gloss paint (also aerosol). My intention was to add some rock chip resistance to the surround. I think I achieved that.

 

Thanks for the info guys