Mk1 bumper with chrome trim strips question

Hi all,

The front and rear bumpers on my Mk1 golf have plastic/chrome strips, the same as in the picture below.



Can replacement plastic/chrome strips be purchased? or is there anyway to refresh the them, as mine are dull/pitted and look terrible.

Any advice would be appreciated,

Thanks,

Neil

I've been looking for about 4 years and not seen anything come up…not the answer you wanted I know

That's pretty much the answer I was expecting though

As I was re-dying my bumpers over the w/e I popped the lower strip out - it's a simple looking T-profile plastic strip - so something must be out there - not in the dub world for sure (be there's a market for anyone who can find it!), but maybe we should look to Mini, or even non-auto stuff??

Anyone had any luck on this?  Does the window rubber trim fit either of the profiles?

The topic here seems interesting. This was my issue a couple of weeks ago. Are there any replacement for plastic/chrome strips or all I have to do is spray a paint on them. Any ideas? I've been volkswagen parts shop last week and they told me that replacement will be a better option for it, but I want to save a money so I'm thinking on buying it. Any ideas? thanks

Hi,

Did you find those chrome trims somewhere. I have same issue with my cabriolet, but not luck yet. Any proposals?

br,
Tomi

3M do self adhesive flexible chrome tapes in various widths.  Might do the job.

Did anyone have any luck with this?

Going to experiment with some of the 3M stuff just wanted to check no ones come up with a solution already…

Jo B said

Did anyone have any luck with this?

Going to experiment with some of the 3M stuff just wanted to check no ones come up with a solution already…

How was the 3m tape?

plurker said

Jo B said

Did anyone have any luck with this?

Going to experiment with some of the 3M stuff just wanted to check no ones come up with a solution already…

How was the 3m tape?

I would be interested to know too as I have the same issue

I looked at various tapes on eBay/halfords but haven't attempted anything yet

I did investigate this and unfortunately could not find a suitable replacement.

We are dealing with a large "E" shape chrome form and a small "n" shape which grip and lock to the plastic bumper, randomly stuck with some glue along the length and has metal grips at each end of the strip.

VW Heritage did sell a replacement kit, it was very expensive for one piece of chrome, the wider bit. It was a "U" shape from and some glue. I could not see how it could fit. I returned it back to VWH for a refund. I note that it is not for sale anymore.

My solution was to buy a second hand bumper with good chrome and cannibalise it to fit my bumper.

VWH used to do aftermarket bumpers with chrome trim, this chrome was a typical "D" shaped which was stuck on to a flat section of the aftermarket bumper by 3m tape and secured periodically with small self tapped screws.

This could be applied to an original VW bumper, however you would need to create flat sections where the chrome used to fit, maybe with one of those new Oscillating Multi-Tools. I haven't tried it yet.

Food for thought?

This is the link to the so called chrome strip replacement supplied by VW Heritage:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MK2-GOLF-Chrome-trim-adhesive-for-Small-bumpers-MK2-Golf-1984-1988-/391318938768

In another listing it is supplied as the lower trim replacement.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MK1-GOLF-Lower-Chrome-trim-adhesive-for-Small-bumpers-Mk2-Golf-/391318938743

I tried it for both chrome trims, I could not get it to work and returned the product.

The upper chrome strip on my bumper is damaged and I want to replace it.

Would the upper chrome strip from a MKII bumper fit the MKI bumper?

If Mk2 bumpers are constructed in the same way as Mk1 bumpers, I do not see why not.

The shape is a large "E" shape chrome form and a small "n" shape which grip and lock to the plastic bumper, stuck with some glue along the length and has metal grips at each end.

Unfortunately, There still doesn't seem to be an aftermarket solution for this.

Another member of the club "Watson" used a chrome paint for this and achieved quite decent results. Which paint I do not know.

One approach I have seen is to use Silver leaf.  I Have done Gold Leaf on badges and it was tricky, but finding the "proper" Clear coat for it was the hardest part.

I tried many different types before I found one that wouldn't react and change the appearance of the gold leaf from shiny Gold to a plastic looking thing.
 

My chrome strip has been damaged through accident damage and therefore need a replacement upper strip and/or complete bumper

My bumpers are grey in colour with a faded appearance like the bumper in the first picture of this topic.

should the bumpers be black and how do I restore the colour plastic

Grey bumpers with chrome were used in the 80s on the CL and GL models, other models used black with or without chrome.

I was fortunate to buy a new old stock cover with chrome for the rear bumper.

The front bumper I restored, it is a case of clean, clean and clean again to remove grease paint etc, and then treat the faded grey.

I used heat, others use WD40, peanut butter and other products.

Using heat needs to be carefully controlled and stay away from the chrome, or remove it as I did and refitted it using chrome from another bumper.

Please see my project GarytheGolf from page 16 onwards:

https://vwgolfmk1.org.uk/forum/index.php?page=topicview&type=misc&id=projects%2Fyour-mk1-golfs_2%2Fgarythegolf&start=300

You could of course but new aftermarket black ones, but it is not the same. In addition there is an issue getting new chrome.

Apart from tinkering, I have finished my restoration, the front bumper is still original to the car and requires little maintenance.

Hope this helps.

you have been a great help.

I am definately going to use the heat gun trick to bring the oils back out of the plastic and it is good to know that the bumpers were grey to begin as I thought they would have been black.

When using the heat gun I would remove the chrome strips if possible?  Are the strips easy to remove and reinstall?