First off, I've been a stranger for a good while now, I've graduated from Auburn and am back at work so I will probably be frequenting here much more often!

Anyway, one of the most frustrating things to me about my truck has always been the chrome bumpers. I hate them! I want them to match my two tone. I have found a new paintable bumper on eBay for about $130 shipped, any idea on what a good estimate on a quality painting would be?

I am not having any luck finding a paintable rear bumper under $280, any good places to look?

Also ran across a new king ranch grill from 04-05 that matches my two-tone, anybody have any comments on that? Would you do it or do you like the black honeycomb better than the beige bars/honeycomb?

Thanks guys and its good to be back!

 

i think that would look pretty good, do it man

 

I've heard pros and cons about powder coating the chrome bumpers, you may want to look into it. Might be a quick way to save a bit of money

 

I think it would be cheaper to get the front one off eBay than to pay to have the chrome stripped and risk adhesion issues, plus I can't afford to not have my vehicle for a few days. But again finding a back bumper is holding that up.

 

Could you not just take both front and rear bumpers off, then have the chrome bead blasted off down to bare metal, then have them PTM? That way you can still drive truck while its being done (sure it will look a little funny) but think about the money saved since you are reusing existing hardware. Also on the grill a buddy of mine has a KR with the exact grill you are talking about and I think it looks good, if its in good shape and not too expensive then I say do it.

 

i would think you could do like mdhawkin suggested and get em sand blasted and painted, shouldnt have any adhesion problems when its down to the bare metal, or you could just put a bumper cover on the front?

 

Assuming your bumpers are still in good shape I'd just pull 'em and paint 'em.

I like the KR grilles, I say swap it.

Welcome back and War Eagle!

 

you can't just bead blast chrome off. when something is plated it changes its properties slightly. Your best bet would be to sell the chrome bumpers and buy a set of work truck bumpers, post it up on craigslist, you'll have 10 people lined up by the end of the week.