I hate that fake chrome logo on the front

just bead-blasted emblem at work to prep for whatever finish I end up choosing, results (with and without flash)

 

I went with this, get a lot of thumbs up around town.

 

I've never been a fan of PlastiDip, but I like how guys can get creative with it. FYI, OP: if you choose to do white, I used plain old Rustoleum white on mine and its almost a dead-nuts match to Superwhite. I did my emblem and surround on my last truck and even after I told people, they couldn't see a difference. And be sure to prime and paint. Two coats of just paint and I was freckled a month later due to rock chips. Redone correctly, I never had an issue.

 

Nope. Paint will never adhere properly to chrome no matter how much and what kind of prep is done. The proper way to do it is to remove the chrome and for that household bleach is your friend. Search here or Google for how. One the chrome is gone clean it really well, use a plastic adhesion promoting prime, and then finish coat.

 

Even though its not really chrome? its just some shit plastic painted to look like chrome...? I would like to hear more about this though

 

Because it's not paint. Its a "chromish" layer laid down using a vacuum metallization process. Since it's not exactly like hard electroplated chrome and is softer it seems like washing, deglossing to create some tooth, then painting should work. And it does work better than paintng over real chrome but will still eventually chip and peel off. Just seems like skipping the removal step is a half assed thing to do to a fairly new $30,000 vehicle.

 

Sharp. Want to do the same soon.

Ever seen anyone take the badges on the truck and go white on white?

 

Ambiguous,

Is this what the emblem looks like just bare after sand blasting? I really like the look of that!
It looks like it would match up near perfect with a silver Tacoma.

 

I agree, and I have not heard this thats why I am interested to hear more, everyone that has done it says yeah it worked just fine, just rough it up a little. I am back and forth, but I did just order a black mesh grill from homer and I think that it would look better with that than a chrome surrounding...

 

I derped mine black, on a super white.
Now that I see the O/D green on Will's rig, thinking I might change.
That looks really good.

 

It works fine for awhile. Sometimes quite awhile. None of the kids that post how easy it was and how nice it looks come back in six or eighteen or twenty four months to post pictures of how scabby and ghetto it looks then. Go to a high quality body shop and ask a professional auto painter if he/she will spray a chrome grill or emblems on a $35K vehicle. They will try to talk you out of it or flat out refuse. At least that's how it went when I was in the business many decades ago.

 

Might look like Rudolf

 

just to clarify, it was bead blasted, not sand blasted, it's not as coarse of a process

and my idea is to get it powder coated, not spray painted

 

I've got a red one, I like it

 

Plastic dipped black.

 

Do you think the plastic emblem will stand up to the baking process of the powder coat?

 

No. Powder cures between 395 - 425 F between 10-15 minutes depending on the powder. A small plastic piece like that won't survive.

That's all assuming you could actually get the powder to stick to the piece, which I doubt. Powder coating is a process that positively charges your work piece and negatively charges the powder. Then, you use compressed air to spray the powder and it adheres to the metal object. Plastic is pretty non-conductive so...

 

I see. I'd be curious see how that would look on the truck just like that. That looks good to me the way it is now.
Now to find somebody with a bead blaster.....

 

So would you say avoid it all together? or are there ways that might make it last longer? My other option would be to plastidip it black, because if i dont like it i can just peel it off... but what would you suggest. It sounds like you are quite knowledgeable on this topic. thanks!

 

Personally I avoid it. But I wouldn't say you should. It just depends on how often you want touch it up. I'm not aware of anything that can be done to make it last longer than doing a quality prep job. I would clean and degrease it, sand it really well (especially in the hard to reach nooks and crannies) to remove any protective clear coat or film, then try a self etching primer under the finish coat.