getting my chrome back

[CW325]

one of the first things i did was paint my diving boards black but now im starting to regret it :( whats the best way to get the chrome on them back? is the chrome spray paint any good?

[bubbajan21]

Set aside about 6 hours, get a bunch of sand paper and start sanding. Use some rough stuff to strip off the paint and work finer and finer until the shine comes back, then polish. It will be a LOT of work and your arms will hurt for days.

[AndrewBird]

Diving boards aren't chrome, they are anodized aluminum. If you sand and polish them, you will remove the protective anodizing and will have to clear coat them after polishing or they will dull/tarnish rather quickly.

Paint stripper shouldn't remove the anodizing and might be the way to go. But I can't say for sure if it will leave the anodizing intact or what it will look like afterwards.

Chrome paint looks meh at best in my experience. More of a very shiny silver then chrome. You might look into chrome powdercoating though. That tends to look a lot better and will be a lot more durable, but will also be lot more money.

[CW325]

thanks for the quick replies. might just cheap out and paint them "shiny silver" lol, do you recommend clear coating after I spray them?

[AndrewBird]

I usually use RustOleum chrome paint and I've found that if you put any kind of clear over the top, it mattes the chrome and turns it to just normal silver, even gloss clear. So no, I would not top coat with clear.

[Ceeker]

thanks for the quick replies. might just cheap out and paint them "shiny silver" lol, do you recommend clear coating after I spray them?

buddy, if you do that you're gonna make them ghetto.

I would take some lacquer thinner and wipe the area you want to remove the paint from. You won't harm the clear coat this way as long as you don't leave the reducer on for a very long time. afterward wash off the residue to make sure it is completely free of the lacquer reducer. I needed to remove old paint from something I had and it worked pretty good. USE YOUR DISCRETION when applying and removing.

[CW325]

update: so i tried paint stripper on my kidney grills and it worked perfect! thanks for the help, ill be doing my bumpers soon