painting over chrome question

[draggin81]

I have some parts on my cycle that are chrome now, but I want to paint them to flow with the theme of the bike.
I've never tried painting over chorme before, so I figured I'd get some advise before I dive into it.
Most of the other metal parts are getting stripped, scuffed, etch primered, and uro primer/surfacer. The scuffing and etch primer might be a little overkill, but I figure thats better than the alternative. Would the same technique work over a chrome part?

[jlay]

hiya i have painted quite a few chrome parts i have manually keyed/scuffed the chrome with sander and by hand before but depends on shape of items would be mutch easier if you could get them blasted then etch and prime as usual.
as long as the chrome isnt lifting or badly pitted this works fine but if there is then you need to get beyond the damage back to the steel and start from there.

[Cowboy]

Gota agree with Jlay . I Have got a way with Machine sanding with in the past. But due to the Chromeing Process these days, Being for the Most part crap, Actually the last 20 years or so . IMHO.

I,d suggest Media blasting Of some sorts . Be kind of a bummer to Put Yer Pertys on there & they actually STICK . Only ta have the crappy plating peel off under it. Seen it happen to many times . Just My thoughts. Best of luck However You decide to do it.

[draggin81]

Thanks guys. I knew someone one here would know, or at least be able to point me in the right direction.
I'm thinking blasting it with Alum. oxide would work best. I can't think of anything else hard enough to abrade the chrome.
Luckily the parts are all fairly small, and in good condition, so blasting them shouldn't be too hard.
Thanks again.

[Shiva]

Thanks guys. I knew someone one here would know, or at least be able to point me in the right direction.
I'm thinking blasting it with Alum. oxide would work best. I can't think of anything else hard enough to abrade the chrome.
Luckily the parts are all fairly small, and in good condition, so blasting them shouldn't be too hard.
Thanks again.

SMALL PARTS??? how about looking into a 'reverse plater? one that pulls the chrome off? this might work better for tiny parts with lots of tiny joints where it might be hard to sand the chrome out of the corners?

[draggin81]

the parts aren't THAT small. Mostly the rear frame covers/fender struts, the chain guard, and a few other pieces about that size. I'll check into de-chroming, though.

[Stang]

I agree with Shiva. I've blasted chrome parts before and it comes off pretty tough. Just pretend you don't want the paint to stick and it won't come off.

[Strictly Attitude]

Question been asked to paint on a NOS tank that is chrome believe the old mask and sandblast meathod would hold the paint there fine but has anyone tried the alsa clear for chrome. My prob is that he wants to keep the chrome so any ideas are fine. Worst case I'm gonna say no on the job cause one bad job will hurt you more than 10 good ones will help you. So hopefully I can get some insight here.

[Shiva]

Question been asked to paint on a NOS tank that is chrome believe the old mask and sandblast meathod would hold the paint there fine but has anyone tried the alsa clear for chrome. My prob is that he wants to keep the chrome so any ideas are fine. Worst case I'm gonna say no on the job cause one bad job will hurt you more than 10 good ones will help you. So hopefully I can get some insight here.

go see my post on clearcoating aluminum.. supposed to work on chrome as well

[Strictly Attitude]

Shiva I found the article was just wondering if anyone has used these products also because ease of use and final output is a must know. I really don't want to jump into this for the guy if the final product is not gonna be up to par. But if it is then I'm all for it and will be happy to use it. It gives me that advantage of another skill that people want that gets refused allot along with another pic in the portfolio. I will do some digging on this though and see if it is a good option for this project thanks for the link.

[Strictly Attitude]

You know if you can clear on chrome you can scuff the clear and airbrush on that surface then reclear on that so I feel that it might be a way to make a working surface for art or effects on chrome.

[Shiva]

I KNOW of a lot of guys that LOVE and swear by the POR15- its THE thing for old cars..
I personally do not know anyone trying the chrome chearcoat I mentioned.. however, perhaps some digging and asking around will turn up folks with pro's or cons on it.

[draggin81]

it looks as promising as anything else I've found, so I'm going to give some a try.
It's going on my own bike, though, which I'm not going to have much time to work on until March. If anyone gets a chance to try it out sooner I'd be interested to hear how it goes.

[Strictly Attitude]

well if I get the NOS tank job I will let you know what I use how it comes out I will test the product on something first but I am not gonna journey down this road unless I get the job.

[draggin81]

cool. good luck on the job.