Has anyone POWDER COATED a Chrome Rear Bumper??? Outcome?

I have a 2014 TRD Off Road and like to take it out in the mud, I was wondering if anyone has powder coated their bumper and how it held up with the mud, rain and sun.

 

From what I read the chrome has to be completely removed before you can power coat

 

I did mine. 2015 trd or. They sand blasted it and then it went through powder coat. Very happy with how it came out. You can see a bit of it in the pic below. I was planning to have it color matched, but I like how it looks as is.

 

Mine was just stripped for $35. It should go out for powder coat next week.

 

Nice truck! What kind of wheels do you have?

 

Thank you sir! They are the Stealth Custom Series SR8 model in the matte jet black finish. I am super happy with how they came out. They have a 17" option for your Sport too!

Here's Vin's thread in the Wheels and Tires section: https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/scs-sr8-wheels-16x8-17x8-5.358288/

 

Have you gone off roading? I am wondering how it would hold up with mud an dust? Will it clean up?

 

Mud and dust would be no problem.

Powder coat is good stuff, but it's not impervious to damage. It is harder than paint, and if damaged (scraped, etc.) just as difficult, or even more so, to repair.

If you want both tough and easier to repair, particularly on lower areas of the vehicle like your bumper, bed liner is the way to go. However it of course has a whole 'nuther look due to texture.

If you look into bedliner, do some reading at www.monstaliner.com It can be applied by hand, will have a much smoother (but not paint smooth) finish, and damage done can be easily repaired. And it comes in lots of colors if you want to perk things up. Browse their galleries to see some really slick off road builds that use this product inside and out. As in 'all over'.

If I had an off roader, as soon as my paint failed it would be getting redone in this stuff!

 

Sandblast the chrome off 1st.Then have it powder coated.

 

I haven't taken it off road yet, but I don't see any reason why it wouldn't hold up to mud and dust. I think I used 20% powder which gave it a nice matte finish. You could go higher on the percentage for higher gloss if that would make it easier to clean off? In my experience with powder coating, it's pretty damn durable. I've had the wheels on my van powder coated 5+ years ago and they still look new.

 

I sanded my chrome by hand to rough up the finish, then painted with a self etching primer and topped it with 3-4 coats of the 3M bedliner. I keep it protected with 303. It's been just over a year and still looks good. The bedliner is easy to touch up and was quit a bit cheaper than powdercoating. It's held up pretty well to some mild off roading/mud etc. Reason for going with bedliner vs powdercoat is my bumper was damaged slightly and has a couple of dents so I didn't feel that it was worth investing in getting powdercoated. If I had a new bumper like OP's, I would go with powdercoat.

 

Mud and dust comes right off powdercoat, its tough stuff. I'd definitely say to do it. I have my sliders powder coated and they clean off great no matter how dirty I get them.

I'm in the same boat with a 2012+ black with a chrome bumper on my '13 TX Baja. I would've powder coated mine already, but I moved away from my good friend that has a powder coating company. Next time I'm back home up north I'll get it done.

The only possible problem I may happen is get the plastic on the bumper to sit right again. I've seen a lot of pictures after people paint/powder coat the chrome, and the black plastic looks slightly bent up, like in TacomaLos' picture just under the tail light.


Satin black is a good color to match the new factory black paint, and don't pay more than $200 for the sandblast and powder coat together.


good luck! post pictures when your done!

 

Valid point! My plastics were kinda jacked so I just figured it was just my truck, but my plastics definitely did not fit to the bumper as tight as before after I removed and reinstalled them. Still worth getting rid of that chrome though.

 

Would it be wrong to just rattle can paint it? Maybe cost $6-$12. Not as durable, but easy to touch up?

 

Plastidip it, i did my chrome rear, and it turned out really good IMO. forgive the bird crap on the tailgate

 

Looks good. Did you pull the bumper to apply the dip?

 

Nope, did not pull bumper. taped off the plastic bits, removed license plate, and stuffed the backup light housings though their hole into the bumper. Cleaned bumper real good with 50/50 rubbing alcohol / water. sprayed a good 5-7 coats. any overspray on tailgate came off super easy with a little wd40.

 

Most just remove the plastics and spray the derp with the bumper installed.

 

Thanks.

 

I took an hour and just Plasti Dipped my rear bumper black. No removal needed and its removable if you ever want the chrome again..
I dipped the wheels,badges and grill also.. For that all black murdered out look.