Is Vinyl Wrapping An Aluminum Grille Possible?

[@EricHawleyofShaw]

Love that you tried and showed how it "failed". Cross that one off my list of things to try, cuz you showed my why not...

[@heathhenderson7217]

I vinyl chrome wrapped a few interior pieces on my 55 Oldsmobile after watching one of your episodes and it worked perfectly. 👍 thank you

[@hotrodray6802]

I'm thinking seriously about this because the originals were factory painted. 👍

[@johnbarker5009]

You're a a braver man than I am! That's a really difficult thing to wrap and I don't think I'd have tried it.

[@davidryan573]

Congratulations You just qualified for Sainthood, it was smart to screw the grill down because I would have thrown it across the garage, your patience is truly outstanding, thanks for all the effort.

[@AutoRestoMod]

Well I would call it resourceful and not that smart LOL. Smart would have been bringing in someone who actually knew what they were doing

[@blakeneysanders4264]

I think if I have tried doing that on KZbin, there's a high probability my channel would be banned 😂. Thanks for saving me. Another awesome video as always.

[@paulbruno8327]

Another option is chrome spray paint. It actually works pretty good.

[@brianhdueck3372]

What kind of chrome spray paint do you use and where do you get it? I haven’t had success with the chrome paints I’ve used.

[@paulbruno8327]

@@brianhdueck3372 I used Seymour brand Extreme FX Chrome. Make sure you prep the surface really good for adhesion and a smooth finish.

[@AnnoyedCoastalBeach-nl4tm]

Way back when I was a helper if I was having trouble the mechanic would say you aren't holding your mouth right.

[@bjsteg79]

Better than my first attempt at wrapping or doing window tint! Water between the adhesive and substrate, along with heat from a hairdryer or heat gun makes this whole job very easy. Vinyl is very stretchy when warmed up and helps wrap without wrinkles or seams. The adhesive does not react with water so you can float the vinyl on the substrate to position, stretch, and squeegee without much effort. All that is left is a very sharp razor and a light touch to make cuts and trim off excess... disposable ones with the break-off end are perfect.

[@Mechazawa787]

I wonder if a vacuum forming machine would make this work better and much easier.

[@gregorycasarotti9225]

I did all the aluminum trim on my ‘64 Futura using a solution of lye and water “CAREFULLY” . Brushed it on a small area at a time removing the anodization washing the solution off quickly . It turns the aluminum to a milky finished . I then used a good chrome cleaner to polish the aluminum to a shine real close to the shine of the original anodized shine. It took time labor wise but lye is cheap ,couple of bucks for a pound and water from the faucet. Rubber gloves and safety glasses a must.

[@mechanknuckle]

You're a brave man Jeff.

[@davidlaborde4788]

Sherman's flank at Shiloh... NICE!!!

[@Moonpoodle1]

Dang great show

[@kennethstaszak9990]

It didn't turn out too bad for a first try but it's selvage not slevage. It's a term from the fabric industry.I haven't tried wrapping a grille but when doing wider vinyl striping I use soapy water or glass cleaner as a lubricant to prevent the vinyl from sticking prematurely. Rubbing the vinyl down forces the water from between the base and the vinyl and the adhesive takes hold. Another thing that can help is to cut a piece wider than you think you need to allow for the different lengths of the edges. If you templated it out you would find that the shape needed would be a shallow vee.

[@robbjohns9482]

Years ago, I took my 64 grille to a plater and had them re-anodize it and the finish wasn't what I was looking for, so I had them strip off all the anodizing and I ended up with a plain aluminum grille that could then be hand polished. The results were amazing. Did the same for the headlight bezels. I'm not sure that chrome is the best look for the grille, but polished aluminum has a kind of warm mirror finish which I think looks better.

[@hotrodray6802]

Can you clear coat it to save the finish?

[@DD-mp9ok]

@@hotrodray6802 it's possible, but it's pretty difficult to get it clean enough for good clear adhesion without discoloring it. Best bet is to just keep it waxed, like the rest of the vehicle &/or ceramic coat it.

[@robertmcdonald5857]

If you decide to try this again (either redoing this one or doing another) I would suggest starting with a much bigger piece of material. Start in the center and work your way out. This way you aren't trying to pull and reposition so often. Cut off excess and shrink it with the heat gun.

[@markhouck1671]

Jeff, you give it a good try. I'm thinking of doing it on my front bumper. It's definitely an art. The area with opening really marks it the challenge. I give you 7 of 10 for trying.. lol

[@CopCat34]

I like your vinyl wrap poster, especially 'as seen on TV.' I would pay someone to wrap any and all car parts. Thanks for the college try.

[@donbellot4214]

Hindsight is the only way I can see clearly. That being said, I would definitely start in the middle and work my way out. They can't all be zingers.

[@stephenhotzjustdriveit]

I have thought about this on the 99 f250 grill

[@lilorbielilorbie2496]

It doesn't look all that bad really. And for the vinyl "experts" Just remember the first thing that you wrapped. I'll bet it wasn't perfect.

[@biglakehotrods381]

Ya know it actually didn’t turn out all that bad. Short of really getting in there and working out all the little wrinkles. I thought about doing this to my 63 grille. Wondering if I should give it a whirl!

[@kliest1966]

I tried the chrome wrap on my 1964 Fairlane's fiberglass bumpers and failed miserably. Maybe I'll try again someday.

[@hotrodray6802]

🔔😎 Jeff, hope you see this. Restoring anodize aluminum. 4/0 steel wool gently buff to get the oxidation off. Lightly cotton wheel polish if you have one. Put water on it. The water looks like clear coat paint will look. Clean it thoroughly and spray with 2k clear. Not perfect but cheap fix for a driver.

[@1968fordman]

It's like a giant roll of bare metal foil. Lol Doesn't look too bad though!

[@dionrau5580]

Never done it, but I've watched some do it on the KZbin and I think you can get compliance with a heat Gun....

[@keepkalm]

I think he’d be having a much easier time with the heat gun. It should stretch for some of those tough spots.

[@5798Mike]

Nice 👍

[@leethomas9198]

You know they have been sold out of Experience down at 7-Eleven for a couple decades now. You just have to get dirty and do it. And now you have 1 experince. Two more and your a pro😅. I might would try the headlight areas separate just because of the shape variation.

[@whatyaworkingontoday5018]

If this doesn’t sell Vivvid Vinyl, nothing will. That stuff took an ass whipping and never gave up the ghost. Final results aren’t important right now, strength and forgiveness with workability are the winners today.

[@TxStang]

you should have left more overlap at the bottom instead or the top that way when it went over the center hump it would have still had enough at the bottom even after it started to travel upward .

[@MrPoppyDuck]

Oh man. That was painful to watch. Now I know to never try that at home. You have the patience of Job!

[@andersandersen6430]

Just considering if Chrome powder coating would be a valid option?

[@matthoaglund2757]

It's far better to strip the anodizing and then break out all of your progressive grits of sandpaper and polishing compounds. Trust me, it's a ton of work, but you can powder clear coat it when you're done

[@hiitsstillme]

@@matthoaglund2757 Absolutely. It's a lot of work but the end result looks great. We did some parts several years ago and left them bare. They still look great like the day we did them.

[@hotrodray6802]

​@matthoaglund2757 But polished doesn't look anodized.

[@Kkandriccarguys]

HEAT GUN!!!!

[@Dethmeister]

I thought you were going through all the trouble of using a wrap because you wanted a chrome finish. But since you wanted a duller look, then why not just spray paint it the exact color you wanted?

[@MikeWolf-427]

🎶 I seen a Chrome Grill and I want it Painted BlaAack.🎶 No Vinyl wrap anymore it needs to be black.. 🎶 :P

[@danielshute1409]

you get a 5 at minimum just for trying.

[@whatyaworkingontoday5018]

This is painful to watch. Dare I say I’m reminded of the proverbial monkey and his football. Just slow down, use some heat and let the vinyl relax into position. If need be there is “adhesion promoters” that could help. None the less, I’m proud of you for seriously trying.

[@barrybarry8564]

I had to keep this video muted haha

[@hotrodray6802]

🔔😎 For all the naysayers... Will you donate to the $600 anodize job??

[@Hotdaddy536]

You should not drink and wrap..🤣🤣🤣🍻🍻🍻🍻🍻🍻🍻

[@jessemontgomery60]

Heat gun and relief cuts and your still asking a whole lot.

[@hotrodray6802]

Jeff, hair dryer is better.

[@coopw101]

you watch to much Bad Chad.

[@hotrodray6802]

That's easy to do

[@DP-bc3xl]

Jeeze.... channel is going south with this one.👎

[@hotrodray6802]

South is nice country, except for hurricanes over there.