Paint Bumpers - vinyl wrap or plasti dip?

[Giantfan1232]

Found out how to post it..this is what my 14 Silverado looks like with powder coated bumpers.

[dking020]

Vinyl wrap here and no complaints.

 

[goblue4016]

Installing the vinyl wasn't too hard to do. The good vinyl will let you lift and reposition if needed, it also has grooves formed into the adhesive to allow air bubbles to be pressed out. The vinyl is also very conformable to stretch around and into curves and corners.

 

I had a friend to help, 2 squeegees, heat gun (helps with the hard curves and recesses), and new razor blades for trimming.

 

I spent 1/2 the time getting any parts off the truck that were in the way, (I don't have parking sensors, but am pretty sure you can remove them from the bumper), I also jacked the front up to make it much easier to see and work on the front bumper. Cleaning was a big part too, I cleaned the whole bumper 2 times completely with acetone to remove all the grease and grim that I could. From there it was install time, we just took our time and started from the center and worked out.

 

@Jonflores1982 I really like power coat, for sure more durable, but harder to remove if you want to change the color. I plan on removing the vinyl when I sell the truck, more people seem to prefer chrome bumpers, so it will be easy to revert back. Did the shop that did yours media blast the chrome off or was it applied on top? Either way it looks good!

Well i decided to go your route and i got some vinyl wrap - i got a bunch of samples in and the 3m one is almost an identical match color wise to the truck... i see in the pictures what you removed to get to the front bumper - but what did you remove if anything to do the rear bumper?

 

also have you noticed any chipping yet? im not sure if i should clear bra it after the vinyl or not

 

im going to be putting the wrap on this weekend so once done i will take pics!

[willyr1er]

Sweet!

 

The rear bumper for me was a pain. I removed the plastic corner inserts(dumb design, a pain to remove). The plastic step guard on the top of the bumper I could not fully remove, the only part I couldn't figure out was removing/detaching the cover for the spare tire tube where you lower the spare. I lifted all unconnected parts of it and then wedged screwdrivers under to allow access. I really wish I could have removed it completely to allow easier/better cleaning of the bumper and to allow for more overlap.

 

Which vinyl did you end up with?

 

Take your time and it should come out good. I'll look forward to seeing the pictures.

[UofMz71]

The vinyl looks great!

 

Anyone consider line-xing the bumpers?

[goblue4016]

Sweet!

 

The rear bumper for me was a pain. I removed the plastic corner inserts(dumb design, a pain to remove). The plastic step guard on the top of the bumper I could not fully remove, the only part I couldn't figure out was removing/detaching the cover for the spare tire tube where you lower the spare. I lifted all unconnected parts of it and then wedged screwdrivers under to allow access. I really wish I could have removed it completely to allow easier/better cleaning of the bumper and to allow for more overlap.

 

Which vinyl did you end up with?

 

Take your time and it should come out good. I'll look forward to seeing the pictures.

I used the 3m 1080 gloss black vinyl - the color was almost identical to the truck it was perfect..Now installing the vinyl was a whole different story..

 

We attempted to put the vinyl on but failed miserably.. we could get it easily on the flat parts but with all the curves on my front bumper because i have fog lights and parking sensors we kept getting creases.. It looked fantastic on the flat parts though..

 

I might have to go the powdercoat route.. Do they make gloss powdercoat though?

[willyr1er]

That sucks to hear it didn't workout. I don't having the fog lights and the parking sensors so I had a lot more flat sections. Sounds like those little bugger caused a lot of headache. Were you using a heat gun too?

[Jonflores1982]

Yes they do make glossy powdercoat colors. They tons of color to match your paint l!

[goblue4016]

yea i was using a heat gun which did help but i feel a lot had to do with the fact i have never attempted anything like that before haha

[Colt54qg]

May plasti dip front and back bumpers this weekend. Think it can be done without pulling the bumpers off?

[seansharley]

My truck came with painted bumpers, I wanted all the grille, and headlight trims black as well. I did plati dip, looked gray compared to the black paint, tried spray paint over the dip, was closer to matching. Wound up having a body shop paint everything, and did the bumper again as it was already chipped after less than a year. I would recommend powder coat

[Sal9012]

Paint on mines.

 

[TXTruk15]

Paint on mines.

 

 

That looks beautiful - so, no issues painting over the chrome?

[Sal9012]

 

That looks beautiful - so, no issues painting over the chrome?

time will tell but my body shop so far has never disappointed. they do it all the time.

[ikaika1984]

Paint on mines.

 

Did you ever consider color matching the Ridged plates, and screws?

 

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