Another Chrome Ring Thread

[SubjecttoChange]

Yeah... I looked for a while and didn't find much. A few part outs from wrecks were going on here and there but shipping made it just as expensive as the dealer. This is the reason the DIY looks tempting.

Located in San Diego. There's plenty of Body Shops around... but no buddies working for any.

I'll go snap a pic in a few minutes.

[SubjecttoChange]

Ok Finally Pics.

[rm_you]

Mine was actually snapped in two pieces at around the same point as your dent (on both sides). I took it off, sanded it down a bit, used JBWeld and some metal mending plates to glue it back together, sanded it some more, and was going to plastidip it, but tried putting it back on and found that it was a bit warped, so just gave up. That said, it definitely seemed like more than just paint on the plastic pits -- I haven't dealt with anything chromed before, but it really felt like a thin metal layer on top, as it bent like metal and was sharp like metal. I had always assumed it was just colored plastic, but I don't think so.

Anyway, if it weren't for the warping on mine (I might have been able to fix it with a heat gun, but I was lazy) I think it would have been fine to sand and plastidip, but I never actually tried painting it since it didn't fit right. I'd guess with a few layers it would be unnoticeable.

Edit: Right now I am just running around without a ring on at all, and I honestly don't think it looks that bad (though it doesn't look as nice as the plastidipped ring). My friend suggested I should cut some triangles out of lexan or something and paint them white like teeth, and put them between all of the mountpoints on the top and bottom. Very tempting! :P

[BravoZero]

Be careful driving around without it... the top two small grilles rely on the screws that hold the ring on to stay in place as well. Yes, the grilles snap in place but a nice rock will easily dislodge them.

[rm_you]

Originally Posted by BravoZero

Be careful driving around without it... the top two small grilles rely on the screws that hold the ring on to stay in place as well. Yes, the grilles snap in place but a nice rock will easily dislodge them.

Yeah, I noticed that the screws that keep the ring on also secure the top grille pieces, but they are held in place by wires with zip-ties too so unless it was one hell of a rock, it should be OK. It helps that 100% of my driving is on highways and city roads, haven't had a chance to do anything dirt or gravel yet, so not super worried. If I went with my friend's suggestion and did teeth, they'd actually attach ON the bolt points (bolt on teeth!), not in-between as I said above (momentary brain failure).

[BravoZero]

Why not actually having the ring area filled in and painted to match? Might look unique.

[rm_you]

Originally Posted by BravoZero

Why not actually having the ring area filled in and painted to match? Might look unique.

As in, replace the original ring with a ring cut out of lexan? :P I'm having trouble visualizing what you're thinking.

[BravoZero]

I meant fill in that area like you would with a dent or hole in the body. AKA, body filler, lol.

Then have the surface sanded down to match the surface of the bumper, have it painted. So where there was a ring before, now looks like the same surface as the rest of the bumper.

[RalliNurse]

Dude..its not that bad...I would suggest to plastidip with a few coats and call it a day...save that extra money for some other MODS!

[SubjecttoChange]

Agreed! That's my thought. I may just try a few coats of plastidip before I do any sanding... see how that goes first- and If I'm not happy with that- then I'll sand it down and paint. Planning on doing this during the weekend. If I go crazy and decide to paint I'll post a little write-up on what I did.

Unfortunately I don't have a garage... part of the blessing/curse of living downtown. I haven't gotten to this in as timely manner as I would have liked.