I'm going to paint the bumpers and trim around the windows of my '81 245 DL black like it is on the GLT paint scheme. Question is what do I have to do to prepare the aluminum bumpers and the stainless steel trim to accept paint? Would just roughing them up with 1000 grit sandpaper do it? Should I use primer first? What king of black paint should I use? The Volvo paint seems to be sort of like some rubber based product.
Thanks
Jim

If you sand aluminum and stainless with 100 grit, as suggested below, you are going to regret it. The scratches will take dozens of hours to remove with higher grits. I would not start with lower than 220 grit. When scuffing a polished piece of metal, there is no reason to sand through several grits as if you were finishing the piece.

Agreed, on stainless or aluminum it's not necessary, but he's talking chrome-plated finish. If he wants to ultimately get rid of that he's going to have to put in some time and elbow grease.

I'd paint the bumpers black. But leave the chrome trim around the windows and on doors alone. I've done the black thing. I prefer the glint of chrome above and black below.
--
1980 245 Canadian B21A with SU carb but electronic ignition and M46 trans in Brampton, Ont.

Okay, just talked to the guys in the paint shop and they said it's not an easy task, and no matter what you do you're probably going to be doing a lot of touch-up (which might explain why my 92 240 sedan with that paint scheme looks so hagard).

Apparently your best bet if you still want to try it is to go one of two ways. The first is go 100 grit, then 150, then finally 400 followed by a primer and then paint. Basically what you're trying to do is remove the chrome finish as much as you can.

The next way is to use a Red Scotchbrite pad and dull the surface. Press hard and do not leave anything remotely shiny. That's what's going to lead to paint chipping and flaking later.

Use the scotchbrite pad method for any of the body paint you're trying to cover, like on the tops of the doors.

All of the guys seemed to agree though that your best bet is powdercoating any parts you can, although this might lead to a disparity in sheen between what you paint and what you coat. And they all agreed that it's going to be tough to get it looking as nice as you might want it, although if you're not opposed to some touch-up once in a while it'd probably be alright.

Oh, and Industrial Finishes, which should be national, will have all the supplies you need, and you can usually ask them any questions. They sourced some amazing interior paint that made all my interior plastics look factory new. Who knows, maybe they have something specifically for this application that the guys here aren't aware of. Good luck, and holler back if you have any more questions!

Okay, just talked to the guys in the paint shop and they said it's not an easy task, and no matter what you do you're probably going to be doing a lot of touch-up (which might explain why my 92 240 sedan with that paint scheme looks so hagard).

Apparently your best bet if you still want to try it is to go one of two ways. The first is go 100 grit, then 150, then finally 400 followed by a primer and then paint. Basically what you're trying to do is remove the chrome finish as much as you can.

The next way is to use a Red Scotchbrite pad and dull the surface. Press hard and do not leave anything remotely shiny. That's what's going to lead to paint chipping and flaking later.

Use the scotchbrite pad method for any of the body paint you're trying to cover, like on the tops of the doors.

All of the guys seemed to agree though that your best bet is powdercoating any parts you can, although this might lead to a disparity in sheen between what you paint and what you coat. And they all agreed that it's going to be tough to get it looking as nice as you might want it, although if you're not opposed to some touch-up once in a while it'd probably be alright.

Oh, and Industrial Finishes, which should be national, will have all the supplies you need, and you can usually ask them any questions. They sourced some amazing interior paint that made all my interior plastics look factory new. Who knows, maybe they have something specifically for this application that the guys here aren't aware of. Good luck, and holler back if you have any more questions!

The place I work at has a paint shop. When the guys get in I'll ask them. I'll post back in a couple of hours.