C10 Project: Painting a Chrome Rear Bumper

[@shugg0517]

True heart of a teacher

[@StoutCustom]

Thank you and thanks for watching!

[@chadadams4851]

Thee ol' signature series 😂 we've all been there!

[@StoutCustom]

Lol, yep part of the game. Thanks for watching!

[@SealofPerfection]

Killed my soul to see that beautiful chrome go bye-bye, but it came out nicely in the end.

[@StoutCustom]

Yeah almost doesn’t seem right, lol. Thanks for watching!

[@Txcowboy80]

Thanks for the upload. Helped a lot.

[@StoutCustom]

Glad it helped

[@joe27bajaable]

Very Nice!

[@StoutCustom]

Thank you!

[@madisoncrawford9478]

Thanks for the video!

[@StoutCustom]

You’re welcome and thanks for watching!

[@Kmerrihue]

This is a great video, super helpful

[@StoutCustom]

Thanks! I’m glad it helped and thanks for watching!

[@gmctx5487]

Looks good 👍

[@StoutCustom]

Thank you!

[@deankay4434]

Customer gets what they want and possibly quick to paint than power coat. The only problem I have now, are the TV commercials for "Franks Spicy Sauce"! Dag Nabbit, every time I hear it, makes me think of "Stouts Customs"! DK, Omaha.

[@StoutCustom]

Lol. Too funny Dean.

[@deankay4434]

@@StoutCustom It makes me smile and Lord knows I need it! "I put that Stout Customs on Everything!"

[@Phattyjay]

Good information and really helpful thanks for the video man

[@StoutCustom]

You’re welcome and thanks for watching!

[@jimbennett1519]

Nice job man and lots of good information. Thanks for putting it up

[@StoutCustom]

Thanks. Hope it helps some folks out.

[@jimbennett1519]

@@StoutCustom I'm sure it wil👍

[@gonzalolopez7199]

exelente informacion saludos mestro

[@StoutCustom]

Thank you and thanks for watching!

[@larrypugh9336]

I think my heart skipped a beat on that 😂 I've done a lot of squares over the past few years and doing one at the moment. Did the epoxy cover the 150 scratch and and not shrink back

[@StoutCustom]

So far I haven’t seen any shrinkage or scratches showing up. I alway lean to the coarser grits on chrome since it’s so hard a surface and have never had any issues. I would rather have sand scratch issues with good adhesion and repaint than to have to strip and resand. Thanks for watching!

[@davidbrown-55]

Nice! Did the run flow out boss?

[@StoutCustom]

Heck no. It flowed some but I will still have to cut it out and buff. It’s not too bad now.

[@craighauenstein1139]

Would’ve liked to see it on the vehicle

[@StoutCustom]

There are some later videos with it installed. Thanks for watching!

[@nimblybimbly4002]

I’m smoothing the firewall on my squarebody. Do you recommend welding the horizontal seam or would you just use fibreglass filler? How about the other depressions and dents from spot welds, etc?

[@StoutCustom]

It’s been a while since I did mine but if I remember right i made a panel that covered most all the seams on the passenger side and welded all the way around. I think I may have used panel bond behind the panel where the seams were and welded around the heater box opening on the inside followed by seam sealer to keep moisture out. On the drivers side I cleaned out as much seam sealer as i could and welded the seam followed by fiberglass filler and regular filler. You have to weld any seam or it will crack even with kitty hair over it. The spotwelds and dents were just filled. Across the middle on top of the transmission tunnel I just seam sealed a time or two until it was a clean looking joint. I didn’t want to try to weld it because as I found out on the drivers side, welding a dirty seal sealed joint is not ideal. Way back on my second video at about the 3:55 mark you can see some of what I did.

[@nimblybimbly4002]

@@StoutCustom Awesome! Thanks!

[@ehaberzurumli1822]

Good job , how it coast ?

[@bret9741]

Have a new truck. Only one available in a 1000 mile radius had chrome front and rear bumpers. Should I just sell these and buy primed bumpers?

[@StoutCustom]

@@bret9741 if there are primed ones available that’s a good option. Either way will work

[@angelarcher-w9k]

so after the primer you just add the paint ? and what clear coat would be able to be used ?

[@StoutCustom]

@@angelarcher-w9k after the primer dries it is sanded smooth and then painted with base/clear or single stage

[@tcollier4017]

man ol man it hurt my feeling when you started sanding a brand new chrome bumper

[@StoutCustom]

Just doesn’t seem right does it, lol.

[@tcollier4017]

nope!@@StoutCustom

[@jonathanritter7364]

Im wanting to paint my.chrome bumpers a matte black. Ill take it off my truck and do it in my garage. Rattle can. I dont need a professional finish but i want it to look as good as i can get it. What products would you recommend as far as primer/epoxy. And paint

[@StoutCustom]

@@jonathanritter7364 using rattle can off the shelf products aren’t going to last but it can be done. There may be a direct to metal matte black paint or start with etch primer followed by matte black paint. SEM products are good. Thanks for watching and good luck on your project!

[@swartzkoft7886]

Hows it holding up ?

[@StoutCustom]

@@swartzkoft7886 I sold the truck but I’m sure it’s doing fine. I’ve painted chrome in the same manner many times and never had an issue. This method is also used by aftermarket restyling companies when they take a factory truck and paint all the chrome and resell as part of their package offerings.

[@mickiematthews1881]

Jim, I noticed you said you are no longer working for the paint supply company. What is your day job now?

[@StoutCustom]

I went back to collision work for a while but am currently oh hiatus from that to catch up on home repairs and fishing, lol.

[@hermantom4292]

Hey amigo..where do I start from.working on 1968 c10 truck cab....sanding process?

[@StoutCustom]

You have to decide how far you want to go. Patch it up, spot in paint or strip to bare metal and fix everything you find. If you just want to paint you have to see if the paint on the truck is good enough to paint over or not. Could sand with 600 and single stage over or strip with 80 grit. Depends on the truck

[@jaysonmartin1448]

I've found most guys who don't like epoxies are production guys that got burned in the 90's doing owner dialogs. Normally, if epoxy fails it's user error. Gotta follow those directions like you did.If you've ever seen polyester roll right off the side of a panel though you learn 😂.

[@StoutCustom]

It seems to me that guys that were spraying DuPont/Axalta products in the 90’s like the etch side of things and guys who were spraying PPG back then like the epoxy side. 🤷‍♂️

[@splash5974]

You're really using that Black Widow alot now. What's your .02 cents on it, based also of its price? Im in Canada, and i have found the same gun relabeled under Grip brand, instead of Spectrum, but you can tell its the same gun. It's the HTE version and it's $199 Canadian (not sure the exchange rate right now) Guessing $150ish USD

[@StoutCustom]

So….the more I use it the less I like it. For the money it’s a decent spray gun but…. I painted as a high production painter for close to 20 years. Always trying to put out the absolute best looking product I could. Always used SATA and had excellent results. Eventually I became a tech Rep for a paint distributor where I was able to use any gun on the market and so I did. When SATA went to the 5500 I couldn’t get the results I was used to with their previous models so I demoed an Iwata Super Nova. Loved it. Today I am no longer with the paint company so I’m back to all the old used up guns I’ve had for many years that have all seen better days. I had bought a black widow before I quit the tech Rep job so that is the newest gun I have. It works, doesn’t spit n spitter like most of my old stuff so I use it. Now that I have finished painting the C10 where I used it a lot, I look back and know that if I had used a better gun I would have a better looking truck. Don’t get me wrong, the truck looks really good but if I could have laid out the paint a little slicker, with a little more ease due to using a gun that atomized better, it would look better. I feel like I was constantly pushing the black widow to give me something it wasn’t quite able to do. I noticed that a lot on this bumper. The sealer had more texture than it should have and when applying the clear I kept pushing to get it slick as I wanted which by the time I had put enough on to slick it out, it ran. So…decent gun for the money but there are better (albeit much more expensive) guns out there.

[@splash5974]

@@StoutCustom Nice! Well good to know. Thought for the price, might be a good back up gun, or an extra base gun. I'm a painter at a collision shop. I shoot my clear with an Iwata W400 Bellaria. Bought it to try, way cheaper than the WS400's, and turned out I like it. Also have a Tekna Clear Coat, it's now a sealer gun...Tried out a DV1 clear coat gun, but couldn't get used to it. I have cleared with a Sata in years, a 3000 was last one I owned for a bit. Actually really liked the way it layed clear, but that's probably 15 - 18 yrs ago now...

[@StoutCustom]

@@splash5974 that’s kinda why I bought the BW. Figured for the price I had to know how it performed. Thought I would make a sealer gun out of it if nothing else. If I were still painting full time it would never get used. Just too many better performing guns out there even though they cost more.

[@splash5974]

@@StoutCustom appreciate the honest opinion 👍

[@kountrylr23]

Ive searched videos and been a long subscriber of the channel. But i cant find any videos on how to align the doors or these trucks. Ive replaced the pins in bushings. I just cant get it. Kicking my ass. So if it not to much trouble could you shoot a video explaining your method on how you align n gap the doors i would greatly appreciate. Its my first rodeo

[@StoutCustom]

Hey kountry. Some of these truck doors fit great and some just don’t. Most of the time there is some bending of the door that has to be done to get it where you want it. Some gentle persuasion. All that has been done on my square body so without being able to push, pull, and beat on one it’s hard to explain. I hope to get another project soon and when I do the door adjustment video will be at the top of the list to do. Where are you located?

[@kountrylr23]

@@StoutCustom Thanks for the response! Understandable, Guess mine will need persuasion as well lol. Bc I don't think I got much more adjustment left in the hinges located in Dallas, Tx

[@StoutCustom]

@@kountrylr23 To get the door fitting right you pretty much have to do whatever it takes. If you need the door to go backwards and close up the gap you can slot the hinges a little longer or add shims(washers) between the hinge and the door. Just remember when one area closes, another opens so you have to find the middle ground that works the best for all of it. It will drive you crazy for sure.

[@kountrylr23]

@@StoutCustom Its definitely driving me crazy so far. Out of everything ive done so far the doors have given me the most problems. I wasnt expecting it to be. An it's just me so it even more challenging. Luckily im just getting the metal where i want it rn. I've had to walk away a few times lol. I really appreciate your tips. And thanks for all you do it really helps. Your videos gave me the confidence to tackle my truck.

[@StoutCustom]

@@kountrylr23 glad it all helps. Take a break when you need it and keep at it. You will get there

[@Redneckofgaming]

Will that one stuff in the spray paint can work to because i don't have a spray gun

[@StoutCustom]

For professional results no but if it doesn’t matter it can be done with spray cans. Just expect it not to last and be difficult to work with meaning lots of potential problems and poor performance. Thanks for watching!

[@Redneckofgaming]

@StoutCustom cool thanks for the info

[@StoutCustom]

@@Redneckofgaming 👍

[@mickiematthews1881]

Hey Jim, how do I contact Kountry, see comment below? He lives in Dallas and so do I, maybe we can get together and brain storm. Love your skills and willingness to share with us country bumkins!!

[@StoutCustom]

I would comment something under one of his posts and see if you get a response. Tag him as well by clicking on his name

[@fortyseven1832]

Why didn't you just buy the primer bumper?

[@StoutCustom]

@@fortyseven1832 I buy most of my parts from AMD. They are right down the road from me. They didn’t offer a primered bumper so…..

[@normgraham6658]

Why not just order a painted bumper?

[@StoutCustom]

AMD is not far from me so that’s where I buy most of my parts. They didn’t have a painted option in stock so I went with what they had.

[@cdnrider6200]

dumb question ....why no protection for your eyes?

[@StoutCustom]

Not a dumb question. It’s the age old equation of personal preference vs cost vs time vs maintenance vs getting by. Ideally a full face respirator should be used but the air supplied ones are about $2000, and full face cartridge type is about $150, while the half mask is $30. Anything full face requires tear away covers and maintenance to keep the shield clear and usually has a glare to look through. The air supplied ones are cumbersome and take some getting used to as well. I’ve used them all and prefer the supplied air type but the last one I had no longer works and the $2k price tag for a new one is tough to swallow. So, if you are in a good booth that keeps the overspray away from your face, it’s just easier, cheaper, and faster to wear a half face respirator especially for a small job. Great question and thanks for watching!

[@Handle4570]

Couldn't buy a bumper that's not chrome

[@StoutCustom]

I buy most of my parts from Auto Metal Direct because they are not far from me. Chrome is all they had in stock. I think there are other suppliers that have paintable bumpers but not sure the quality