chrome bumpers - cleaning and dent removal

[winstontj]

Insides are surface rusted as expected. Outsides have some junk on them. I've never owned a chrome bumper... If I use a green scrubby will it be too abrasive and scratch? All solvents are OK right?

Also how much can I persuade small dents with a not so BFH or something before the chrome starts to crack, etc. My car is no gem but the goal is to make fiberglass molds of the individual bumper pieces. If I can't fix the dents I'll have to mold the dented ones (only little dents), make a male model from the mold - FIX the male model, then mold again. Just trying to save a step but don't want to ruin the chrome.

Also, looking for the fasteners, trim, and the little (sexy looking) chrome strips instead of the BIGASS overrider/horns. Are the chromed carriage bolts NLA? How about the rest of the bumper fasteners? Kevlar/Carbon bumpers on the square tail (4222580) by BavAuto Show & Shine..... they will probably be the nicest thing on the car!

TIA,

TJW

[esty]

any good chrome cleaner will make the grime go away but odds are aginst you on not cracking the plating if you start beating with a hammer as hard as you'll have to, to make a difference

[BillWilliams]

use only window cleaner. Most chrome cleaners have some abrasives in them, not nice to new chrome

[MichaelP]

Dunno what say about the dents except go easy. Eeee.. a plastic or dead blow hammer might be a the thing.

A loosely rolled-up ball of aluminum foil with some solvent or chrome polish will take out pitting (got that gem from Martha Stewart's magazine...), or brass wool will work if you can find it. I can't.

Dig around in realoem.com for the sexy bits for the rear bumper. They don't exist for the front, and the itty-bitty early ones are nla. I just deleted the ones in front.

You can still get the chromed carriage bolts, but a far less expensive altenative is to get the best ones you can at the hardware store, put them in a drill and spin the heads in 0000 steel wool with some rubbing compound or jeweler's rouge. Shiny!

[winstontj]

Thanks! I'll post some before and after pics and some first and second molds for the Carbon/Kevlar ones I'll be making. (BTW, I'll be painting them with chrome paint so as to be real secret-like) I don't really like the look of gaudy CF or Kevlar on the exterior... makes me think rice burner...

[tinkidz]

Don't waste your time!!!! BFH With the dents. If you're using them for a mold you need it to be perfect as posible. Grind the dents and any other imperfection with a 80 grit rollock, fill full of epoxy and sand till a baby butt finish. If the chrome side of your bumper is the positive side of your mold, Get it right now or everyone you pull one out will have the same imperfection in the very same place every damn time.

[esty]

Don't waste your time!!!! BFH With the dents. If you're using them for a mold you need it to be perfect as posible. Grind the dents and any other imperfection with a 80 grit rollock, fill full of epoxy and sand till a baby butt finish. If the chrome side of your bumper is the positive side of your mold, Get it right now or everyone you pull one out will have the same imperfection in the very same place every damn time.

and if you want to save your original dent'd bumper..you can fill it with 2 part spot putty to make your mold and when finished, remove the filler

just an idea so's you don't crap on your only bumper

[winstontj]

Don't waste your time!!!! BFH With the dents. If you're using them for a mold you need it to be perfect as posible. Grind the dents and any other imperfection with a 80 grit rollock, fill full of epoxy and sand till a baby butt finish. If the chrome side of your bumper is the positive side of your mold, Get it right now or everyone you pull one out will have the same imperfection in the very same place every damn time.

and if you want to save your original dent'd bumper..you can fill it with 2 part spot putty to make your mold and when finished, remove the filler

just an idea so's you don't crap on your only bumper

esty that was my initial thought... BUT... the problem with using bondo on the chrome is that you've got to sand and smooth it out. That would ruin the chrome. I'm going to just mold as is, make a male model from fiberglass, fill with pour foam for structure and sand and fair the first model. Then I'll mold the perfect bumper. Problem is my chrome bumper has just a few small dings like from SUV's backing into you or like if a golf ball hits your car, etc. Nothing huge so it can be filled/faired easily but I don't want to destroy the chrome by saning and applying bondo.

Thanks for the help though!

[Guest Anonymous]

Get a leather bag from Eastwood and fill it with sand or size 9 lead shot, shape a piece of fine grained hard wood such as maple to fit the insideusing a power sander. Set the wood on the inside of the dent witht he bumper on the bad and start hitting the wood lightly with a 2 or 3 pound bfh, . I highly recommend that you practice a bit before starting work on your best bumper. Many light blows are much better than a few hard licks.

good luck