The previous owner of my Bentley purchased one of these after-market Speed bumpers:

https://www.meduza.co.uk/bentley-continental-gt-c-supersport-front-bumper-for-models-04-09/

It comes with black plastic honeycomb grille inserts (like a Lamborghini), which I do not like. I want the Bentley pattern. So I found a set of 3D-printed grille inserts from Bentley Conversations. I tried to have them 'painted' chrome:ish with paint from some company I found in Spain, but they just turned out gray and not shiny.



Does anybody have any experience with chroming plastic parts? Does anyone have any connections to recommend? I am open to sending my grill pieces out to have them chromed, but I would like for it to be someone you know/trust on a personal level.

What about wrapping it with chrome vinyl, does anyone have experience with that? It's quite a few holes to tinker with. And perhaps not the ideal solution for the front-end of a car, with dirt, bugs and rocks, etc?

If anyone knows of somebody that is looking to sell a 3-piece set of grille inserts for a Speed front bumper, please let me know. Black is OK (which I believe is the standard for all Speed editions), but only if they are metal and not plastic.

 

do you have links to bentley related 3d printer projects?

 

have you looked at KRYLON paint? https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000C027P4?tag=acrylgiessen-20&linkCode=ogi&th=1

 

We have chrome spray paint cans for sale here in Sweden, although I am not sure that it is the brand Krylon. I just don't see how anything spray-painted can withstand being on the front of a vehicle, especially since you're not able to add a clear coat to any chrome paint that I have come across.

The local wrap/vinyl companies I have spoken to have told me that there isn't enough material in the grille for the chrome vinyl to stick to, so they do not want to take that on.

I did find a couple of sellers on AliExpress selling the outer grill inserts, but I can't tell from the pictures if they are black or chrome. If they are just made out of metal then I can find someone in Sweden to chrome them for me.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005004160670546.html

 

Have a look at these:
https://spectrachrome.com/
https://pchrome.com/applications/plastic/
https://www.vacuum-metalizing.com/pl...hrome-plating/
and this place in Sweden might be a good resource. They do chrome plastic:
https://provexa.com/en/process/chrome-plating/

 

Thank you, Bruce!

I'm not gonna lie to you, the company Provexa you mentioned is (embarrassingly enough) no more than 1-2 hours away from me in Sweden. I had not found them during my previous web searches, and I've spent 10+ hours on this. I'll post an update if I get anywhere; thanks again!

 

You're welcome! It'll be interesting to hear what you find. They say they can plate plastic up to 1800mm in length (6ft) so it looks like they can handle the job.

 

Find a place that specializes or is familiar with vacuum metalizing if you're still looking to get this done. If already completed, please share results.

 

I haven't yet completed this project; my beloved Bentley has unfortunately not gotten as much attention as I had hoped this year. I had never heard of vacuum metalizing before, so thank you for that tip! I don't know if it is available in Sweden, but I will check it out.