Chrome Elimination | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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Norm N.

New Member
Joined
September 5, 2018
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City, State
MA
Year, Model & Trim Level
2015 Explorer XLT
Just joined but been coming here for a while for help. So thankful for this place. I've searched and found other similar posts here but most seemed to be unanswered. I've also searched youtube for videos on this but nothing found. I cannot stand chrome/silver so I'm eliminating it from my XLT. I'm probably going to plasti dip the roof racks and possibly the wheels eventually as I had plasti dipped wheels on my last vehicle and they held up great. However my concern right now is with the side chrome moldings and the rear lift gate chrome piece that says "Explorer". In regards to the rear lift gate piece, has anyone dipped that? It does have the camera on it and I assume I can remove the whole piece and unplug the camera. I've also found a black decal on Ebay (2016-2018 Ford Explorer Rear Chrome Trim Blackout Precut Vinyl Decal Overlay | eBay) that actually goes right over that entire piece to make it gloss or flat black. Thoughts on that?

Secondly, the chrome trim on the sides of the vehicle (lower door), does anyone know how those come off and if I take them off, is there an empty channel there or holes from clips? Or is it simply stuck on over the lower bottom plastics? Could I remove them and be done with it?

Thanks!
 



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I had all of mine wrapped in black satin vinyl.
 






Had my rear Chrome, and roof rack painted black. Still have some to match my wheels for a “balanced” look. I hate all black wheels. :wave:

...and had the door handles painted body color.


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Getting a nice, bubble free vinyl cover for the rear might be tough. It’s definitely a skill to lay down vinyl. I’ve done more than my fair share, and still mess up from time to time.

I’d vote for plastidip.
 






I’ve got an 18 limited. I dipped the chrome accent pieces in the bottom doors, the top rails, wheels and the back explorer trim. I only removed the rails, left everything else on. I also bought paint to match handles and had the door ha does professionally painted. No issues.
 






Man. Wish you had a 11-15 I have black roof rails and the black side strips I would gladly trade for the chrome ones lol
 






You can use plastidip to paint those chrome pieces. This method allows you to go back to stock look any time you want.
 






Using Plastidip you can di it right on the vehicle and just peel off the overspray, even on the backup camera, once it dries. I've done all the badging, bumpers and grills on my truck twice now with out an issue.
 






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