2003 F350, Center crossbars of chrome grille are faded. Anyone have a spray paint they used to make the grille look good again?

 

Correct grille paint color - Ford Truck Enthusiasts Forums (ford-trucks.com)
I found this older post wonder if anyone tried this or other paints?

 

Any type or color of paint you pick from a rattle can will chip in no time. Chipped paint on a front grille looks worse than faded chrome.

The OEM grille for 2003 did not have chrome on the center cross bars, so whatever you currently have sounds as if it is aftermarket.

There are two types of OEM looking aftermarket front grilles for 1999-2004 Super Duty trucks that have chrome center cross bars:

1. Full replacement grille shells, where the entire OEM grille shell (Chrome surround with Argent center cross bars) is removed and replaced with the aftermarket grille shell (Chrome surround with Chrome center cross bars).

2. An all Chrome plastic Overlay that is form fitted over the top of the center of the OEM grille, with two perimeter pieces that overlay over the two hexagonally gridded nostrils of the OEM grille, the combination of which converts all surfaces and textures of the OEM grille to a chrome appearance.


Ford did not make center chrome cross bar OEM front grilles until 2005, when the grille shape was de-contoured and squared up a bit.

The Argent color of the center cross bars of the 1999-2004 grille is not a paint color per se. A lot of the front plastics on Ford vehicles during that era were described as the color "Argent", irrespective of whether "Argent" was offered as a factory paint color for the sheet metal or not.

When the surface color is the same color as the material color of the substrate, any nicks and dings from pebble pelting are not as noticeable, because the color of the substrate is the same color as the surface.

Keep this in mind if you choose to paint your grille in the face of inevitable chipping.

 

What I have looks exactly like the grille in the link.

 

I repainted mine (01) body color. Be VERY CAREFUL if you sand/scuff first not to go through the outer layer of the original paint or coating as the solvents will bubbe the lower layers and you will have to sand the whole thing down. Very, very tedious and time consuming!

 

If you want it all chrome, you MAY be able to find somewhere that will 'dip' it and chrome it. Most paints are going to chip over time, because they aren't really bonded to the plastic. Even the chrome 'plating' on the grille will chip when rocks hit it.