[62ImpalaSS]

Here is the deal. I have a 62 Impala SS that I am in the process of restoring, at the moment I have the interior out and am repairing the floor pans cleaning up rust etc. So I have been thinking on what the interior will be like when I get done. I have the seat fabric and vinyl picked out. It is a black vinyl and a fabric that has a color a lot like brushed aluminum, with some black flakes in it so it ties in with the black vinyl. I am not going to do the interior like the original car had it will be custom.

So here is the real Question. I have all the original chrome interior pieces and I was thinking that since the interior is going to have a brushed aluminum sort of color why not paint the chrome pieces to match? Is this a sin in the hotrod bible? I know some that might think so but I am not planning on getting rid of the car it was my inheritance from my dad and has some sentimental value that I will not get rid of. So I have not seen this done well maybe I have and not recognized it for what it was. Or would it be better to wrap the chrome in the black vinyl and call it good.

So what is the best way to go about painting chrome as well. I know that there needs to be some prep work done on the chrome so that the adhesion is good between the chrome and the paint. So any thoughts would be great and I will post some pictures of the floor pans soon in my photo gallery so that you all can see the hack job the owner before my dad did to the car.

[OneMoreTime]

No sins in the Hot Rod bible that I know of..atleast in the style dept..Now if the brakes don't work.. or the engine is not good..

As far as painting chrome..take it to a chrome shop and have it stripped and then the paint will stick..

OMT

[MI2600]

I believe that is a felony to an anal restorer.

[creativeinteriors]

It is ONLY a crime if you dont consider trying to find a set of trim that screams to be painted (parts with poor chrome on them already) and turn around a better set back into the restorer/rodder pool. If your parts arent good enough to use without replating than by all means do the NASTY to them. That is by no means a crime

[62ImpalaSS]

Good point I will have to evaluate the chrome. I know that some of them have pits and rust, the car was not well taken care of. Now the original seats that I just bought have nice chrome on them with one little dent so that I was thinking of leaving alone. At this point I have some misc pieces of chrome that were in my trunk so I may do some test pieces and see if I like the effect before doing all my interior chrome. If it works out I may send my chrome back into market for restorers to use.

[ckucia]

Personally, if the chrome is good, I'd either try to cover them in a fashion that wouldn't damage them, or get a ratty but useable set on ebay and use those. Can't be that hard to find - maybe other GM brands used the same parts - I believe there is a lot of similarity between Chevy and Pontiac in '61 and '62 - maybe other Gm lines too.

Tastes change over the years. It would be a shame if you ended up kicking yourself 10 years from now because you wanted to go back chrome and had ruined them irrepairably - its going to be that much harder in 10 years to replace them.

That said, its your car and your money. Give it some thought, but then do what you think is best.