So, I have some front end damage from a wreck a year ago. Decided to go ahead & replace grille, bumper pad, light assemblies, etc. Was tearing down the front end & remembered a write up on painting the stock headlight assembly. Since both of mine have damage (broken brackets/scratched lenses) I figured what the heck. End result looks alright. I wouldn't do this with a good set of lights; no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get the painters tape to come off without peeling off some of the chrome. That chrome plating is THINNNNNNNN.

Anyways, a bit new to this site so I just wanted some opinions as well. Anyone running the Spyder Black headlights? When I replace these I was thinking about the Spyders. Any other suggestions?

 

looks good! yea i had some chrome come off too, and i was freaking out about it, but you really can't tell once its on the truck.

 

Did you let it sit in the freezer before peeling? I did...but it seemed every piece of tape got away with some chrome. i do like the look...but knowing that it's not a perfect job is buggin me.

 

no, i did not let it sit in the freezer. i didn't get all that much peeling. did you use 3m painters tape? that's good stuff. they also had 3m low adhesive painter's tape, wish i had gotten that stuff. yea, i think about it from time to time, and then realize i can't barely see it, so who the hell else is gonna notice?

 

I used the standard 3m painters tape...didn't realize there was an even lower adhesive version. I had quite a bit of peeling. It's hard to see from about 5 feet back, but up close it's a bit crummy looking. Sucks that it's right along the edge of the new paint line too.

Also, has anyone had any luck with stripping the chrome from the grilles? My grille is damaged (barbed wire fence...cut straight through the grille...long story) and i'm looking to find some way to patch it & strip the chrome, sand it then paint it.

 

Gravity feed sand blaster will remove the chrome but use low air pressure or you'll pit up the plastic badly. Another thing about the tape. If you wipe the tape against your pant leg, sticky side to leg, you'll remove some of the glue and you wont have any problems with it peeling. Looks good though to me.

 

Wayne, I have some parts that have been damaged & I can peel the chrome off...but it's aweful hard to force the chrome to peel. Where can I get in touch with a gravity feed sand blaster. I don't want to spend too much trying to refurb the grille/bumper cover. I found some replacement grills for less than 180, so if I can get by removing the chrome, patching the damaged parts & sanding/painting the current one for less than 100, I'd feel good. Any other suggestions?

 

my chrome grille was sanded, but sanded good with a nice texture to paint on. id say just sand it good and you'll be alright. i havent had any problems with my grille rather than regular wear and tear like rocks from the road and stuff. only problem i had that got painted were the tops of my mirrors. they faded pretty badly. but the grilles fine. sand blasting sounds good though, but make sure its not to hard. you will get pitting like kniner said. i dont know how bad the pitting would be, but you wouldnt be happy with the results. for your headlights....what are the spyders? post a link. i have sonars and so far theyre pretty good other than my driver side, low beam halo is yellowing in a spot. but other than that theyre fine. those in black would be nice for your truck

 

mmstar, what did you use to sand your grille? Did you do it yourself or have someone do it?

here's a link to the spyders, they're a few lights down: http://cpwstore.carpartswholesale.co...7020&Nty=1

 

they were done by a profesional. but it wasnt anything more than regular sanding. i didnt even know these headlights were called spyders, but those are what i have but in chrome.