I want to replace my plastic gray bumper with one that can be painted. I am going to probably just order a new bumper off the internet but when i do the parts search there are a few options, painted gray, upper black lower color painted, etc. I just need to know which one is the one that can be painted. I also am trying to find a grille that can be painted to match too. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

They can all be painted. As you say, it's just plastic underneath whatever body color you have. Now if you have that neat chrome trim, it's a little more challenging.

If you can get the Sport grill and bumper, there is no chrome, as you can see by my picture. I'm not sure if you can order them by body color though.

Getting these pieces from a wrecking yard is near to impossible, as most trucks there are because of front hits.

 

Yeah, no go at the salvage yard. And I have the gray bumper with the chrome...i think it looks retarded on a black truck. I know they don't ship bumpers already painted, though that would be nice but probably expensive. I just didn't want to order a bumper and they end up sending me the same one i already have. It would be nice if it just said primed without chrome.

 

Try LMC Trucks.

 

http://www.lmctruck.com/icatalog/dde/t.aspx?Page=0

No R/T Hood there... :-(

 

so i went to a few places trying to get some estimates on just painting a new bumper and they all came out to around 300-400 dollars...seems kinda high for me supplying a bumper that they just have to paint.

 

300-400 sounds just about right. Any cheaper and the quality is going to lack. As for the bumper, check ebay. There are alot of bumpers on there that are primered, and you can either choose to get the one with the chrome trim or without. For the grille, either buy a new one or use the same one you have right now. To save money, you can sand down all the chrome on it, and put primer on it with a couple wet sands to make it smooth. Then, take it to the body shop to get painted.
One thing you could try when asking a paint shop how much it would cost, say you will pay in cash. Shops like it because it can be just a side job then, and normally good for you because they can give you a better price.
I looked in to doing this with my truck, as I dont like the plastic bumper either but it just turned out to be way to much of an investment. You arent increasing the value of your truck much, if you are at all. It just looks a little better. I just look at the bright side; with the plastic bumper, if I bump in to anything I wont scratch it. Nothing would make me more upset than bumping in to an object and scuffing up a painted bumper. Good luck!

 

im not really concerned about the value of my truck, just the looks. Id rather pay the xtra for a better paint job too. i guess im just gonna suck it up...im trying to get the whole truck black eventually and put the black srt10 rims on it.

 

It would definetly look sweet. I dont even get why Dodge put plastic bumpers on some of the trucks. Maybe on the ST level trucks, but the SLT and Laramies should come with a painted front bumper. The Durangos look horrible with the plastic bumpers.