Can you Paint Old Faded Worn Chrome?

[WingMan71]

I'm considering painting the inside a chrome chain guard. Wondering if it will work.

The chrome on the outside of the chain guard is actually in great shape, but the inside was totally rusted (surface rust only).

I gave the entire chain guard a bath in EvapOrust for two days. It came out clean as a whistle. All the rust is gone from the inside.

But, I'm left with an inside that is very faded and more gray looking metal than chrome. That will probably rust again pretty fast once put back in use.

So, I'm considering painting the inside of the chain guard with Rust-oleum primer and then a coat of Rust-oleum in silver or gray, whichever I can find.

Question is:

Will the Rust-oleum stick to that worn out chrome mostly gray surface that used to be nice clean chrome?

Anybody tried painting old worn out chrome before? If you did, what worked?

Thanks for any experience with this.

[JTGS850GL]

Should be no problem painting the inside. I've done it before with pretty good results. Just don't expect it to look perfect, but who's going to be looking inside your chain guard anyway.

[cowboyup3371]

Yea, with all the road grime and chain grease slinging up in there it's going to get just as bad again soon.

[chuck hahn]

Tape off where you dont want the paint and hit it with truck bed liner spray. Super hard when cured and protects against further debris chipping and eroding the metal.

I use it on the under side of metal fenders as well for its protective ability.

[WingMan71]

Tape off where you dont want the paint and hit it with truck bed liner spray. Super hard when cured and protects against further debris chipping and eroding the metal. I use it on the under side of metal fenders as well for its protective ability.

Chuck,

That's a good idea, but I wonder about one thing:

Is that stuff flexible enough so it won't crack and flake off on a flexible part like a fender?

It certainly sounds like the right thing to use, but if it dries rock hard... ?

[chuck hahn]

Metal fenders yes....plastic no. Yes its rock hard when cured. Just like the body shop applied spray in bed liners are. Regular paint chips and peels in my experience. It hasnt chipped or released off any of my fenders and theyve been done for years now.

[cowboyup3371]

How much did it run for you to do that chuck?

[Grimly]

Tape off where you dont want the paint and hit it with truck bed liner spray. Super hard when cured and protects against further debris chipping and eroding the metal.

I use it on the under side of metal fenders as well for its protective ability.

I second that - assuming that 'truck bed liner spray' is something similar to underbody schutz - a pliable, rubbery goop you can paint or spray on.

[chuck hahn]

Bed liner is NOT like undercoating. Undercoating is goopy and rubber as mentioned. Bed liner is made to harden like a turtle shell so to speak...protecting the bed from damage from gravel, shoveling stuff out of it, basic construction type activity that would other wise gouge and ruin the beds paint and cause areas subjected to rusting.

Rattle can spray is what I use and its like 8 bucks a can and can do 3 or 4 fenders. Just let it cure 24 hrs and it doesnt need to be really thick from several coats. Get one good coverage and thats sufficient.

[Grimly]

Must have a look for that here, then. It might exist here, but it's escaped my notice.
Fwiw, the underbody schutz does work if that's all that's available.

[wymple]

There is a Rhino-Liner dealer about 25 miles from me, and I met his wife at my horse's farrier waiting our turns. The truck she was pulling her trailer with had a good bedliner job done on it. A tree limb had fallen on the tail gate and pushed a huge V over 1/2 the way down into it. That Rhino-Liner was unfazed by it all, it must be some good stuff.