Darkening Chrome...how to do it

[Justy311]

I want to darken all of chrome on the exterior of my car...make it darker, but how would I go about doing this...i dont think sharpie would look very good with this, just paint them with a glossy paint. Any ideas or knowledge of this would be great...thanks

Why do you want to darkend chrome? Chrome is supposed to be shiney. :rolleyes:

they have a black out tape made for that... kinda glossy, or maybe the spary tint people use on there tails... just mask it off

checkout the web and your local yellow pages. platers can do it. ive seen some at car shows in varying darkneeses. the lighter the amount of black the more the chrome will shine thru. it looks pretty cool. it's someting ive been considering. chrome is too shiny and oldschool.

http://www.guildplaters.com/finishes/black_chrome.html

Looks like it's just painted black to me... flat black inside and glossy black around the edges, maybe with clearcoat??? I've seen better darken chrome.

If you want that look in the picutre I wouldn't waste the money or dakrening the chrome, you should just have it painted back.

how dark do you want to go to?

If you go almost black it doesn't look good at all. I've seen guys do that and it looks terrible.

[Justy311]

I want a glossy black...not black, but if it is black...glossy so it still shines...the chrome isnt the greatest looking now, my plan and goal is to tint the windows and get rid of the chrome trim and get some dark rims and go the low profile look. But right now paying for college and $$$ wise its kind of crappy. I read though you have to sand blast in order to have paint stick to chrome so im not sure what im going to do yet...your info has been great...thanks

Haven't heard of sandblasting but I'm more familiar with Muratic Acid. Bathe it in that a a while and that'll take the chrome off with little sanding and no worries about peeling.

[Justy311]

Haven't heard of sandblasting but I'm more familiar with Muratic Acid. Bathe it in that a a while and that'll take the chrome off with little sanding and no worries about peeling.

where about do you buy this...local hardware store...and does anyone have suggestions on how about i paint this? and with the tinting stuff mentioned above...where do you purchase that?

I blacked out the chrome around my windows with 1/4" black pinstripe. I did this because the ventshades cover-up most of it, but leave two miss-matched sections un-covered. Therefore, I covered those sections with the stripe.

lowes, home depot, any decent hardware store, and marinas

Depending on the quality of the chrome, you would let it soak for 1 maybe 2 weeks. It's IS Hydrochloric Acid so wear gloves and don't let it soak, open, in the house. This will remove the Chrome (if that's what you want to do) allowing you to paint new Chrome and not worry about it not sticking.

If you just wanted it sanded, I was recommended "80, 150 and then 220. Etch prime it, seal prime it, spray body color and then clear"

[Justy311]

Thank you all for your contributions they are greatly appreciated...