I've talked with 4 different local paint and body shops, about getting my chrome bumpers PTM, and I can totally tell, they just don't want to deal with it :-(

None of them seem to believe they can remove the chrome themselves (or even want to try). Two of them said they would call me back, but have not.
One of them wanted me to buy brand new primered bumpers, for like $900, so they could then charge me another $500 to paint them :-(

This whole PTM bumper thing is really starting to suck !

Forum member NASSTY said ....and this is what I was hoping for. (His bumpers, and his truck too, for that matter, look bad-***) But so far, no such luck.

Oh, and one of the paint guys said > "and you realize that your painted bumpers will not be nearly as chip resistent as the chrome would be, right" ? To which I replied, "Well sure I realize that..... But I would hope that they would be "at least as durable" as the paint on the front of my hood"...... He just kind of shrugged, like he couldn't guarantee that either :-(

But that started me contemplating the "satin black powder coat" rout again. Definately durable... more so than paint. Maybe not quite as durable as chrome still... But at least I found a place that could both prep (bead blast) and powdercoat my bumpers, for $400.... and they had the attitude I'm looking to find... "No problem" !

What to do ???

Fish

 

Have you considered linexing them? I know they can color match the factory paint and put on linex extra that will keep them looking like that forever.

 

Do it yourself

Go to a junkyard and get a used one and PTM yourself

 

Hey RS, you mean like bed-liner spray ? I've seen that in colors other than black, but I can't even start to imagine that stuff in Stone Green.... with all the gold metallic ? Unless I'm just on a completely different page.....
I just did a search on Linex, and found nothing but the super thick, textured stuff for bedlining.

Hey Raptor, why would I go to a wrecking yard ??? I have two brand new F150 bumpers right here. Don't get me wrong... Yours look great ! But yours are white, and if I'm not mistaken, did not start out chrome plated either. I think going from Chrome to Stone green, would be an entirely different ballgame, than going from Black to White.
Also, I think my paint color might be the most difficult Ford color made, to mix, spray, and make match, with the existing paint, as it is really one of those "shifting colors"..... from dark brown, with almost no visible metallic, to lighter brown, with loads of metallic.

Hmmmm....
Fish

 

hey fish have you researched how difficult it can be to get an exact match on metallic paint. some of the things i have read have said that often times when just painting one part of the car can cause what they call "metal flop" which means that the metallic in one area faces a diff. direction than another and will not reflect the same throughout. its suggested to have the whole car repainted. in that case, is it really worth it???

 

why not just buy the paint to match bumpers and sell the chrome ones.or just have one place bead blast and another paint.or just keep looking.

 

just an idea check out the roush overstock store on ebay he has painted bumpers for 250 plus shipping or something. just have to find your paint code.

 

Wheeler, totally ! I know that can be a really big issue.... and I could imagine it being even worse with Stone Green, as it really changes dramatically, depending on the angle you view it from... not just the metallic aspects, but the whole color in general !
But on the other hand, whoever painted my Snugtop SL bedcover, did an outstanding job ! If I have any complaint whatsoever, it looks like it has a thicker, glossier clearcoat.... so does that say anything bad about the paint on the bedcover ? ....or about the clearcoat / gloss on the truck paint itself ?

Italiano, you said > Just buy PTM bumpers < Uhhh... from where ? Do you mean like the ones for an FX2 or FX4 ? Well, I'm really not sure if those come available from the factory in the FX2/4 colors.... but even if they did, the FX series, were not available in Stone Green. So, as far as I know, Ford has never painted a bumper Stone Green.

BlackF150, do you mean, "He has bumpers painted in other colors" and I'd just have to find the paint code, then have mine repainted ? Or might they paint it for me ? Hmmmm. I'll go check them out now....

Thanks guys,
Fish

 

Chris,
Chrome is really hard to get off. You either have to grind it off or reverse plate it. Blasting won't touch chrome. I have a blaster and it doesn't do anything to chrome. Your best bet is going to be get some used PTM bumpers and have them resprayed or get some new ones to have them sprayed. That or linex them which I think would look sweet.

 

I did go check out the Roush overstock.....

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/F-150...ayphotohosting

And this brings up a whole other set of questions.....

This bumper is for an 04-05 F150..... Hmmmm. They won't have one in Stone Green, as this color was not even available in 04-05. So, it would still have to be painted. However, I sure always loved those rectangle fogs ;-)

Now somebody had said that this bumper would bolt to my upper bumper.... but the brackets were different..... I know, I was confused by that too..... So will it bolt on ? Or won't it ?

Next thing, what about the plastic peice on the lower part of my 08' bumper ? Probably wouldn't fit the 04-05 bumper, huh ?

And if I could figure all of this out, I'd still have a chrome rear bumper :-(

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I'll tell you guys, I'd hate to wimp out...... But satin black powder coated is sounding better and better. At least the place I found, acted like it would be "no problem" to bead blast them, and PC them, and be done with it. Very durable stuff too, which makes it great for a bumper....

Honestly, unless I stumble upon somebody who can do a great job, painting my chrome bumpers, for a good price, like forum member NASSTY had done, it will probably end up being a powder coat job....

Fish

 

Fish he means to buy the PTM bumpers, PTM means that the part must be painted to matched, it does not mean it comes pre painted. I've seen a lot of body shops try to paint the chrome bumpers and it failed horribly.

 

If your curious there's a few jeeps in this thread that got totally sprayed in linex,

https://www.f150online.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=331926

 

i vote LINE-X id do the bumpers and ten run it down the rocker panel and across the rear bumper~ that way the color diference doesnt look bad just more of a two tone look!

GO LINE-X

 

hey thumper thanks for explaining my quote.thats is exactly what i was saying.fish,it sounds like you are starting to have some regret with the purchase of your truck.it costs alot of money to make it the way you want it to be.im not ripping you,you have just been very indecisive and i understand because some of this high dollar stuff,you pay for it and then you are stuck if you dont like it or whatever.if you want the monochromatic look then you need to take your time and slowly accumulate the funds to buy PAINTABLE bumpers and get them done.then you can take your stock ones and sell them and recoup some of the costs.at least with chrome your arent limited to one color so it will be easier to sell.you need to find a grille shell still right.so might as well get all your stuff you want painted together and get it all done at the same time and save some funds that way too.

 

You said Not even in the slightest. I'm thrilled with my truck.

I'm not being indecisive about "wanting" my bumpers PTM. It's just that the paint and body shops around here (I believe much more than most other states) only want the easy bucks. If you don't give it to them, they just shove you aside and say, 'next please'. However, I know from forum member NASSTY's example, that "it can be done", and for a reasonable price ($500 range).

I don't want a monochromatic look. I had actually planned to have several things in black, right from the start, not the least of which, my wheels. It was just shown to me in a photoshop job, that PTM bumpers looked quite nice.

True, but I'm a lousy seller anyway. I'm just hoping I can get a nice chunk for my factory tires and wheels.

Do you mean a "grille surround" ? Yes, that needs to be either Stone Green, or black too. I know its plastic, so I figured I could rough it enough by hand sanding, so that it could be sprayed. If it were black, I'd try Krylon Fusion on it. Other forum members here seem to have good success with this paint on plastic. But yes, I agree.... If I found a way to get my bumpers PTM, I'd certainly get the grille surround done at the same time... not only for cost savings, but for color matching.

Peace,
Fish