“Chrome” grill

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Astouffer512

Member
I was looking over the specs for our Fusion the other night and our trim package says it has a “chrome” grill. I’m young and it got me thinking on most regular consumer level cars I can’t remember the last time I have seen a chromed over metal grill. Do they “chrome” over plastic now a days? If so how do you care for this type of “chrome”?


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Astouffer512- I bet most "chrome" trim is "chromed plastic" these days, even on pricey vehicles. Note those scare-quotes: it`s not really chromium plating, IIRC it`s a type of aluminum bonded to the plastic and coated with [something, I don`t know what].

You have to be very gentle with it and not compromise that top/protective layer, otherwise you get something like the grille on my Crown Vic, that doesn`t really look *bad*, but it doesn`t ever look "right" either. Only solution is to replace, or have one of the redo places have at it (probably more expensive).

I try to limit my products for such surfaces to those that`re basically (functionally) non-abrasive. It`s not something you want to "correct" in any significant way as that`ll just make things worse.

I sure wouldn`t use an actual Metal Polish on such stuff!
 
It probably is chromed plastic. Some trim is chromed metal, like door handles, for durability. One way to check? Use a magnet.
Dodge used chrome plastic on hub caps or inserts on their truck wheels. Who would have thunk?!

Caring for this chrome plastic can be challenging. The chrome plating on plastic is very thin and tends to flake off in time. Even though chrome is supposedly a very hard metal plating, it can be scratched if not cleaned properly. I would be careful (not recommend) about using a true chrome cleaner that is abrasive. I would go with a mild metal polish, like SimiChrome, Flitz, or MAAS. I`ve used Optimum`s Metal Polish and that works good for dirty chromed plastic. Just do not rub real hard. I use a swede-type (low nap) microfiber for application and removal. Some like Klasse All-In-One (KAIO) for cleaning chromed plastic, as it is a chemical cleaner and not abrasive and will offer some protection as a sealant, but I have not used it for that. The Rag Company makes a microfiber cloth specifically for metal polishing.

On a similar note, chromed plastic on the interior of vehicles, like control knobs or switches or dash instrument gauge bezel rings, can be polished with the above mentioned metal polishes or KAIO applied judiciously (AKA, sparingly and lightly) with a cotton swab (AKA Q-Tip) and removed with clean cotton swab or suede microfiber. Cleaned and polished chrome-accented trim just stands out in an interior and it is one of the last things I do in an interior.

One BIG word of caution is not to use Stoner`s Tarminator on plastic grills to remove bugs. The solvents can literally dissolve older plastics. Not all plastics from various vehicle manufacturers are susceptible to this, but one bad experience has me a little gun-shy on using it on grills. Poor Boy`s Bug Squash is a much safer solution (literally!).
 
you will see 2 kinds of plastic chrome. One-as Accumulator stated is a process called vapor disposition of vacuumed aluminum. This is probably the most cost effective way. The results is a "chrome" that has a yellowish hue to it. Real chromium has a bluish hue to it. Plastic can be infused with beryllium and than chrome plated. More durable. In either event the layer is very thin. Mild detergent or window cleaner are best used on these pieces
 
Thanks for all the advice everyone. I have some TACC systems metal polish I got to clean up the exhaust tips this spring. I’ll see how abrasive it is before using it on the grill though


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I like the PVD ones. I`ve painted a ton of them. It`s easy to strip bu putting a bag with muriatic acid overnight. It does all the work for ya. Painting real chromium is for the birds.
 
yamabob- Yes indeed, "painting chrome" generally deserves those scare-quotes! I discourage people from doing it since they`ll usually botch the (admittedly really involved) prep.

That`s a great tip about soaking in Muriatic/Hydrochloric acid! I wonder if that`d work on the Crown Vic grille...no, no I`m *NOT* gonna paint mine, but a lot of guys do. If/when I replace mine, I might give that a try just out of intellectual curiosity; if it works I can pass it along to the Panther platform community as a genuine solution.
 
It works very well. I`ve done a lot of egg crate grills for folks on a Chrysler site. I caution to use proper respiration and ventilation. I keep the bags outside in a rubber-maid container.
 
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It works very well. I`ve done a lot of egg crate grills for folks on a Chrysler site. I caution to use proper respiration and ventilation. I keep the bags outside in a rubber-maid container.

Here is an example. In the second you can see the color of the acid I poured and and dipped into solution as there was a spot still left. The third is after paint. Those eggcrates took a lot of airbrushing to get each "crate " line straight
 

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yamabob- Those Chrysler Site guys are fortunate to have *you* doing the work! Yeah, I hear you on the challenges..what airbrush are you using?
 
Hell yeah they are B). That particular one I did all his under hood bits ( true fire in blue on valve covers and electric storm on fuse box. That red really pops in the sun. Nice that he won some awards as well.
I first bought a Master G44 and still use it to fill fields. My go to is my Iwata HPC-plus which is my workhorse. On fine precision I use my micron CM-b
 
yamabob- I suspect those airbrushes are like space-age tech compared to my Paasche! (Which I`ve still never used on a vehicle..haven`t used it at all for decades but it`s still here.)
 
They made and I`m sure still do some quality brush`s. The tech is all the same -it`s in the precision of the parts. I have about 8 devilbliss FLG-4 finishline paint guns. New or not they can`t come close to the clear I can spray with my GTi millenium. Parts all look the same but the results are not.
 
yamabob said:
you will see 2 kinds of plastic chrome. One-as Accumulator stated is a process called vapor disposition of vacuumed aluminum. This is probably the most cost effective way. The results is a "chrome" that has a yellowish hue to it. Real chromium has a bluish hue to it. Plastic can be infused with beryllium and than chrome plated. More durable. In either event the layer is very thin. Mild detergent or window cleaner are best used on these pieces
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I think I have the yellowish hue. There is a chip in the grill and I can see yellow underneath.

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There`s no way I know of to repair that . 2 options -replace or strip it and ship it to me and I`ll paint it for ya
 
yamabob said:
There`s no way I know of to repair that . 2 options -replace or strip it and ship it to me and I`ll paint it for ya
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It’s going to be my DD before long so I’m not really that concerned about it being perfect

Can I just polish it with 3D one or would that be too harsh of abrasives?


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Astouffer512 said:
It’s going to be my DD before long so I’m not really that concerned about it being perfect..
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Some things you end up learning to live with, and some things you never quite do...and it can be hard to predict which way it`ll go.
Can I just polish it with 3D one or would that be too harsh of abrasives?
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Hard to say...go easy. I did that on my Crown Vic`s grille and came to regret it...kicking yourself over "oh [snap], I knew better.." is a drag that I hope you can avoid ;) BUT OTOH, it might clean things up just enough to make you glad you did it...can`t predict it IMO.
 
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