One of the things that I don't get is chrome. It has its place I guess. But, to me, polished plastic just makes a car/truck look cheap.
Maybe back when chrome was actually dipped metal, and there was an art to properly execute it, it wasn't such a bad thing. But on cars today I know that it is plastic. I think of it as handing a woman a fake diamond....and trying to pass it off as real. It's just something you don't do.
I have always preferred the look of the Grand National or the '94-96 Impala SS.... monochrome. Others see it as plain Jane. I see it as the mark of a car/truck that means business.
So now that I got my chrome rant out of the way, I wanted to share what I did to remove (hide) it from the truck.
Ultimately, if I were rich and all, I would have dropped it at a body shop and have them spray it the same paint code as the rest of the truck. So let's all assume I am not rich.
I went out for estimates to get it wrapped. I got $250.00 at the lower end of the spectrum and $650.00 on the high side. Naturally I was leary about both ends. Moreover, when asking questions about warranties, I got even more varied answers.

Before I bought this truck, I was YouTube surfing when I found dipyourcar.com videos. The guy that runs this place is pushing Plasti Dip. It goes on like spray paint, but it doesn't permanently adhere to your surfacr. I watched a few videos, then "amazonned" that stuff. I found it to be fairly reasonable. Something like 8 bucks a can, shipped. So I thought I would give it a try.
Here is a shot of the front before I got started.

I started at the bottom as it would be a good place to test before I committed to removing panels



More to follow....

 

According to the videos you are supposed to put several thin coats instead of one or two thick coats. The first coat is nothing more that a "misting" where you are looking for no more than 50% transparency. As you build coats, they will bond to each other and become more durable with quantity. They recommend at least 4 coats to retain the ability of easy removal.
Here is the second coat on the bottom


The third and fourth coats....

 

This stuff dries to a matte finish, so if you want gloss, you have to go over it with umm Glossifier. Seriously it didn't just make that up.
It is almost akin to putting a eurethane on a stain. It is supposed to also be more UV resistant.
I actually put down 5 coats of the dip total on the bottom. I then shot it with 2 coats of the Glossifier.
Now it was time to start on the top, as I wad satisfied with the result of the bottom.
Seeing how intricate it was to tape, I decided to remove the headlights and the Blue Oval (I may just gold plate that bad boy and wear it around my neck). I also cut pieces of cardboard to protect the trans cooler, radiator and inter-cooler from over spray.
One thing about masking the area off with this stuff... you are actually masking to provide a good stopping point for the coat. As it is removable, all you are doing with the mask is stopping the light over spray. You actually want to over spray you panel then remove the Dip from the adjacent panel. If you tape it up traditional, the coat will simply adhere to the tape, and you will almost certainly tear up some from the panel you are trying to coat.







The first coat on the top

 

This is a decent video showing how to set it up. I obviously took it a step further by removing lights.

 

Dude, you can't start a thread like this and not show the finished result. I call foul.

 

I apologize. I was up until 2:30 am trying to get everything back together so it would be cured enough to driveat today.
So here is the blue oval work.



Again the first coat was very light. Luckily, the emblem is 3 dimensional with the characters inlayed. After getting the coats on and hitting it with 2 coats of Glossifier it was time to let it dry.
Using a pick, I was able to lift out the chrome lettering.

 

So after putting 4 coats of the dip on the gril, and 3 coats of Glossifier, I was able to get everything back together.

 

In the end, I like how it turned out, but it is by no means perfect. If you look at the close up of the finished emblem on the truck, you can see where a bug gave his life to ruin the otherwise smudge free finish. I suspect this winter, I will be attempting a flawless outcome.

 

It looks good, a la the Limiteds and EB Premiums that had color matched grills. Well done.

 

Well after it has cured for 8 hours, it looks muck better. Other than the bug, I think it looks as though it was factory appointed.

 

It looks great, I like it when a product does what it says. I guess to fully understand that you need to peel some off. Do you have the mile long chrome strip in the back?

 

Yea, I went to bed last night a little disappointed. When I checked it this morning, I was pleasantly surprised at how uniformed everything looked.

And yes, I have that long strip in the back. I plan on blacking that out too. I have to order more product first.

The door handles and window sills to follow after that.

 

Looks great. I have thought about this myself. I used plasti dip on the reflectors on my F150. It has been on there since October and went through a winter of road salt and now a summer of bugs. Looks like the day I sprayed it.

 

Like this one???
When I bought this one in '04 it took the dealer a long time to find one that didn't have the chrome on the front. I had to go with the EB.
I am not a fan of all of the brag-tags either.

I just don't get why they have to plaster its perceived demographic status and capabilities all of over the sides of vehicles. It makes it look cheaper to me.

 

One of mine was the same 04 black EB Premium. We are on Expeditions 4 and 5 now.