Blacking out Chrome

[Ti Kan]

Robert Turlington writes:
> I want to black out all the chrome trim on my 82 4k and make it look like 
> an 84.  Has anyone done this?  What type of paint works best?  I was 
> thinking about using a black semigloss.  Would it better to just use black 
> primer?  Can you paint over the bumpers also, or will the paint just start 
> cracking?

I did just that on my 1980 4000.  Check my web page for pics:
	http://www.ibiblio.org/tkan/audi/auti1/
I have a couple of "before" pics on that page too for comparison.

It all boils down to good surface preparation.  If you sand down the
surface and make sure it's really clean, then primer/paint with
something like Krylon spray paint would work well.  That said, I used
this method only for the side window trims.  I removed each and every
trim piece there and sanded them down and painted them with Krylon grey
primer and Krylon Satin black.  For the bumper-top chrome trims, road
debris tend to chip paint so I went with the "blackout tape" that you
find at auto parts store chains (usually in the section that has
pinstripe tapes).  It worked and looks great.  The bumper-top corner
trims are tricky to do with the blackout tape so I painted them.  They
do require occasional touch-ups.  I sanded the chrome off the top and
bottom grille trims.  As to the headlight bezels, I went to Euro H4/H1s
so those are gone.  My euro lights came with replacement black trims for
above and below the headlights, so I used them.  I didn't bother with
the thin chrome-line in the bumpers or the winshield trims.  A *little*
chrome is not all bad.

The painted part of the bumper top is in "diamond silver" color on all
1980-83 4000s, and my car's color also happens to be diamond silver
so everything matched up real nice.  If your car is not silver, you
may either leave it as is, paint it to match the body color, or paint
it black to look like the '84 4000s.  Here again, due to possibility
of road debris damage, you would want to use an automotive-grade paint
that is thicker and tougher than Krylon spray cans.

-Ti
01 S4 2.7 biturbo quattro
84 5000S 2.1 turbo
80 4000 2.0
96 A4 2.8 quattro (sold but not forgotten)
-- 
    ///  Ti Kan                Vorsprung durch Technik
   ///   AMB Research Laboratories, Sunnyvale, CA. USA
  ///    ti at amb.org
 //////  http://www.ibiblio.org/tkan/
///