Rugged Ridge Venator Front Bumper - painting the skid plate?

[Scruf]

I really like the style of the Rugged Ridge Venator front bumper. However, the skid plate is a silver color. I've been removing the silver trim from my Overland because I have matte bronze wheels.

I'm trying to decide if painting the Venator skid plate black is a reasonable option? I haven't used it before, but I have a couple of cans of PlastiDip. I have a black and a bronze that I think it close to my wheel color. Just not sure how either would look. I don't want it to look splotchy, and I don't want it to look like I spray painted something on my brand new Jeep. Could also use a regular spray paint. Though if it looked terrible, I could peel off the plastidip and go a different route.

Attached are a couple pictures of my Jeep. I recently blacked out the grill trim. So now it's just the silver on the stock front bumper, and you can see how much it stands out.

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[kevman65]

I would say Plasti-Dip it whatever color(s) you want to try.

Once you find the color you want permanently on it, have it powder coated.

 

[noside85]

good idea, i don't see it being an issue.

it would look cleaner for you painted black, plastidip alone wouldn't hold up to the potential scrapes and scratches as mentioned above.

i wonder if lineX would be a smart investment, not sure how durable it for underbody wheeling

now i also wonder if painting mine to body match would make a noticeable difference...

 

[MCATDT]

I also went with a black and bronze theme. I would go with black for the skid plate to blend in. I have kept the bronze truly as an accent (wheels, shackles, winch fairlead..etc) on my build. I think the bronze on the skid would make the skid a focal point (now if thats the idea then it will accomplish that).

 

[Gatorac]

The silver on the Venator skid plate is not as bright as the silver accents in the plastic bumper. I would actually call it gray. It's a single piece and could easily be powder coated if you wanted.

 

[Scruf]

Thanks for all of the feedback.

I agree, I think I would want to do black. The bronze might be too flashy, and that's just not my style.

I'm not sure if the plastidip would hold up to rock chips? Then again, people paint their entire car with the stuff. I've got a can of black already, maybe I'll test coat something and see.

My other concern would be if the black paint didn't really match the rest of the bumper. The suggestion on the truck bed liner might be good. I used some recently that was more like a spray paint but with a light texture.

I like the idea of powder coating. It's been a while since I had anything powder coated, but at the time, they charged like $115 as a starting point, even for a small part. (I was powder coating a custom intake tube for my Mustang that had nozzle ports for methanol injection).

I'm guessing the skid plate is already powder coated as it comes from RR? Not sure if that would have to be stripped before another layer of powder coat could be applied? Need to do a bit more research.

 

[Tarantularock]

Thanks for all of the feedback.

I agree, I think I would want to do black. The bronze might be too flashy, and that's just not my style.

I'm not sure if the plastidip would hold up to rock chips? Then again, people paint their entire car with the stuff. I've got a can of black already, maybe I'll test coat something and see.

My other concern would be if the black paint didn't really match the rest of the bumper. The suggestion on the truck bed liner might be good. I used some recently that was more like a spray paint but with a light texture.

I like the idea of powder coating. It's been a while since I had anything powder coated, but at the time, they charged like $115 as a starting point, even for a small part. (I was powder coating a custom intake tube for my Mustang that had nozzle ports for methanol injection).

I'm guessing the skid plate is already powder coated as it comes from RR? Not sure if that would have to be stripped before another layer of powder coat could be applied? Need to do a bit more research.

Love to know if you did this?

 

[Scruf]

Love to know if you did this?

No, I ended up getting the Rugged Ridge HD full width.

 

[Trauma PA]

No, I ended up getting the Rugged Ridge HD full width.

Pics?

 

[Scruf]

Pics?

Yes, sorry should have included those.

I also installed the Apex Badlands winch. And relocated the power cable to come in the side of the side instead of the rear.

 

[Trauma PA]

Yes, sorry should have included those.

I also installed the Apex Badlands winch. And relocated the power cable to come in the side of the side instead of the rear.

That looks really sharp! Thanks for posting the pics.

 

[kad's_Glad]

I also went with a black and bronze theme. I would go with black for the skid plate to blend in. I have kept the bronze truly as an accent (wheels, shackles, winch fairlead..etc) on my build. I think the bronze on the skid would make the skid a focal point (now if thats the idea then it will accomplish that).

Love the look. We’ll done!

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