Painting a chrome handlebar

[nordvind]

I bought this old handle bar from a gs something something, my goal is to get it black and put on my 450.

so my question is, is it worth it cost-wise and if anybody has a proper "how to" id they would like to share some with this total paint newbie.

Thanks all

 

[BADJACKSON]

I'd have it powder coated. But that could cost as much as buying a new set.

 

[Nessism]

Spray paint. Rough up the chrome first and use an etching primer if you have one.

 

[Big Rich]

Look into Duplicolor Metal cast paint. I've used it on bare metal before, and it was pretty impressive. You'll still need to rough up the chrome a little as Ed mentioned above. And no matter what you do, paint on bars will ALWAYS get scratched.

 

[JTGS850GL]

I'd second the idea of powder coating. I don't think those bars originally came on a GS.

 

[Steve]

I'd be curious to find out what "GS something something" those bars came off. :-k

I seriously doubt they were on that bike when it left the factory. :-\\\

.

 

[wymple]

Looks like dirt bike bars to me.

 

[bwringer]

Not really worth it when you can buy a set of black powdercoated MSR ATV bars for under $30 at about any moto shoppe. I have ATV Lo bars on my V-Strom, and ATV Hi on my KLR, and there are several other bends available if you like.

If you're really determined to use these, just sand 'em down as best you can and slap on a coat of Rustoleum Gloss Black with a foam brush. It takes a week or so, but this stuff eventually sets up to be reasonably durable, and is easy to touch up. Spray bomb paint never seems to harden at all.

Oh, and leave the throttle area unpainted.

 

[60ratrod]

like everyone said, you gotta rough the chrome up really well. paint won't stick to chrome for long.

 

[nordvind]

Hey everybody, thanks for all the great advise, originally, i bought the bars as a way to learn, and try out some different things. But i think i?m gonna go with the ATV bars, i really like the look of a dirt bike bar on a GS450.