How to Paint a Chrome Grill: Step by Step Guide

Do you know that the chrome parts of your car body can get changed in any color you want? Well, you need to follow some DIY steps here.

Painting a chrome grill has always been a crucial thing for your car. This makes the car look shinier, cleaner, and brighter. But if you paint the chrome grill following some wrong steps, this can turn into a real hassle instead.

how to paint a chrome grill
Image by Francine Sreca from Pixabay

Well, most people prefer to make the chrome grill turn black. However, you can paint the chrome grill in any color you want to.

If you’re wondering how to paint a chrome grill, this article will be a great help to you.

Also Read: A Guide on Picking Top Gold Spray Paints

How to Paint a Chrome Grill? – Step by Step

Painting a chrome grill is not some rocket science. So, relax and decide which color your chrome grill needs.

Also, here you need to identify your chrome grill type wisely. The older chrome grills require extra steps to make the best outcome here.

You can undoubtedly hand your car over to the maintenance shops for painting the grill. But that would be just a waste of some extra bucks. By following easy steps and spending about only $38, anyone can paint their chrome grill at home.

In my experience, I’ve got a 100% satisfactory outcome from the paint every time. So, here I will mention all the exact steps that you can also follow for painting your car chrome grill.

Things You’ll Need for Painting Chrome Grills:

First of all, you must gather some materials to jump into the steps. All these materials are easy to find. So, you can get these from your nearest hardware shop:

  • Grit sandpaper – (2004-400)
  • Grit scuff pad- 800
  • Wet/dry sandpaper – 2000 grit
  • Dupli Color Black
  • Dupli Color scratch filler primer
  • Dupli Color protective clear coat finish
  • Knife/ flathead screwdriver
  • socket wrench – 10mm
  • T20 Torx bit driver
  • Paper towel
  • Soapy water
  • Rubbing alcohol
  • Gloves (latex/ nitrile)
  • Elbow grease
  • Sponge Sponge

Optional:

  • Phillips head screwdriver
  • beer

Next Read: Tips on Painting a baseboard Heater

Paint Your Chrome Grill Step by Step

Step 01: Get the Grill Detached

Well, here, the first mandatory steps arrive as detaching the chrome grill from your car. This step will vary according to your car model or type.

First of all, take the Phillips head screwdriver, flathead screwdriver, and wrenches. Remove the 10 mm bolts from the grill and remove the pop-up clips from the head side. Next, you will notice a few plastic tabs on the lower side that are holding the grill.

You’ll also find a few plastic tabs by the car headlights and center. You need to pop these up and gently bring the grill out. Here you need to be extra careful that it doesn’t hamper any side of the grill.

Step 02: Detach the Grill and Surrounds Carefully

Well, only detaching the chrome grill from your car is not enough. The chrome grill has got its surroundings too. The following vital part would be making the grill detached from its surroundings carefully.

Just grab a T20 Torx bit drive to remove. You’ll have around ten metal tabs to open. It would help if you tried to pull the grill and pry the plastic detached from the metal tab.

Once you detach all these ten tabs, you will get another six primary tabs too. These are the light and easy-to-remove ones. These will automatically come apart by depressing lightly.

Continue Reading: Tips on Painting Carbon Fiber

Step 03: Clean The Grill Surface

While painting, the most crucial part is cleaning the surface of the grill. If any extra dirt and debris status under the painting, it will give a scratchy painted outcome. So, try to remove all the tints of bugs, sap, grease, or dirt.

This step is also straightforward. You need to take some soap and a sponge. Wipe the sponge with soapy water and wipe up the grill. This will remove all existing dust and give you the perfect surface for painting.

Step 04: Do Some Scuffing Here

The next step would be scuffing here. Cleaning is mandatory, but it would not make the surface prepared thoroughly for metal. You need to take 300-400 grit paper here.

Just tackle the paper and start scuffing the entire surface. You need to do a difficult job here. It would help if you continued scruffing until it covered the entire surface widely. You can try using beer here.

Although this is not a mandatory step, alcohol makes scuffing done in a better and faster way.

Step 05: Even Out the Scratches

Well, here, you need to grab the Dupli scratch filler primer. The packaging description will direct you to use it.

After you do the scuffing, you’ll find the surface uneven and spotty. So, you need to do at least 3/ 4 layers of castings over the surface. In this section, you can grab an 800 grit pad for even the surface out.

Step 06: Start the Painting

Here you need to take the paint and make the coatings start. Here you need to coat the surface up with paint. This is more like the repetition of step five.

The only difference here would be taking 10 minutes to break with every coating. And also, you need to have a 30 minutes break before applying any new layer here.

Here check out the painting wisely and make sure that it’s distributed evenly over the entire surface.

Keep Reading: Pick the Appropriate Paint Edging Tools

Step 07: Clear the Coatings

Here the next step stands, clearing the coats. The first step should be lathering, and the second is rising. The same two steps need to be repeated. This step will clear the nozzle out completely.  

Step 08: Sanding

This step might not stand as a must for everyone. If you get the flawless finishing directly after the painting, you can ignore it here.

If you find any uneven surface left, grab a 2000 grit sandpaper. It would be best if you were a little gentle here with the scrubbing thing.

Spray some water here and scrub the surface to get the smoothest finishing. You can make this process go a few times. You can use alcohol to get a shiner surface.  

Step 09: Assemble the Chrome Grill

Here the last step would be resembling the chrome grill.

It would be the backward repetition of the detaching process. You need to be aware to avoid any mistakes.

If you require any help, watch some videos online and take the help of someone around you.

Notes:

Here are some highlighted facts that you need to be aware of throughout the entire process. These will work as your safety precaution method. Also, these things are going to help you out with smoother surface in the long run:

  • Wear a long sleeve dress along with an apron and hand gloves. Also, wear good closed-toed shoes to protect yourself from chrome paints while working.
  • You need to wear goggles. These will protect your eyes from all kinds of exposures while working.
  • Don’t forget to double-check the painted surface. It’s normal to get uneven paint on the surface. That’s the reason you must put at least 3/ 4 coatings of paint on the grill.
  • Try to choose good quality spray chrome paint. Only then, you’ll find an even and smoother surface in the long run.

How Do I Make Chrome Paint Shine?

You can make the chrome paint shinier to go in the long run. If the chrome grill paint is new, you can try some waxing here/. You’ll find various types of wax available in the market. Using some wax wisely over the chrome paint would make it shinier.

If you want to try some home remedies here, that’s also possible. Just take some baking soda and a vinegar-soaked rag. You can spread them on the cleaned surface and accept to get a shiner output as chrome paint.

Frequently Asked Question

Is Chrome paint any good?

Answer: Yes, chrome paint can do more than you think. These are good for a shinier appearance on your car. On the other hand, you’ll find good protection from scratches, rain, bugs, or different kinds of dirt and debris.

Who makes the perfect chrome paint?

Answer: “Krylon,” this fantastic brand produces “Krylon Premium chrome spray paint.” This one is well-rated and popular spray paint all over the world. So, you can consider Krylon Premium chrome spray paint as a wise choice among all.

What paint will stick to Chrome?

Answer: Applying the spray paint harshly without taking any break would make the surface sticky. Here you need to use a more steady sweeping motion for smoother finishing.

Conclusion

Hopefully, now you’re aware of painting a chrome grille at home. Well, these are the go-to and straightforward steps to try at home. With these easy steps, you don’t need to be any professional here.

Just have some patience and follow all steps wisely. Doing any rush and applying any wrong products might affect your chrome grill. Be aware, follow all these steps wisely, and get a shinier effect on your car chrome grill.