I want to paint my bumpers black. Does the chrome have to come off? What’s the easiest way?

I sanded mine and etching primed them worked ok, that was a long time ago eventually went to fibergalss.

Did you sand thru chrome or just rough it up?

I've sand blasted chrome mirrors and painted them. One set 17 years, one set 36 years. Never an issue.
Doug

Just scuffed it with somthing fine maybe 320 or 400 I can't remember exactly. But just abraded the surface.

DA sander with 180 & then 400 IIRC, primer & paint. Still excellent 30 years later.
FWIW I did body color rather than black on my Duster; looks more cohesive to me.

Not bumpers, but did a chrome air cleaner.

Scuffed the chrome really well and painted with black wrinkle paint and it's been fine for over 8+ years.

What I’m thinking too, cut and section to fit tight to body, weld bumper bolts inside then grind smooth. 70 SubLime green With black grill and tail lights

a very long time ago, we sanded bumpers with 40 grit, 80, then 120 on a DA.
this was followed by a green primer, of which the cobwebs in my noggin are blocking what product was used.
paint with hardener was used for the top coat, and seemed to last very well.
just my experience, your mileage will vary.

Barracuda bumpers are rounded and no nooks or crannies so sanding will be a good way I see..

Powdercoat right over them works too.

I immersed my chrome bumpers in muriatic acid then ran DC voltage from my battery charger to a copper pipe in the acid & to the bumper. The chrome came off in a few hours.

What I read up on, sulfuric acid for the chrome (real thin) then another (can’t remember what) to get the copper and nickel off down to steel. But nickel is soft enough to sand and get a good tooth for the paint and not peel. I want to do the same on the Duster race car too (steel required)
Good to get these different approaches on what will work though

Chrome is just metal applied over a polished surface. Just deal with it as you would any bare metal.

Take the bumper to a bumper rechroming place and they will take the chrome off in no time!

Nearest one is 500 miles away

I searched high and low 'cause I knew I had this info somewhere on my PC but couldn't find it. HOWEVER, I recall that a caustic soda solution will remove chrome. There are a number of problems with this though. 1) a container big enough to take the bumper (to you remember the bathtub episode on Breaking Bad ?!?!) 2) making enough solution - caustic soda is just Drano but you'll need quite a bit of it and 3) your left with a very hazardous waste - you can't just pour it out in your back yard or down a drain.

To remove chrome only, use a muratic acid diluted with water. About 50%. Gloves, faceshield, respirator is highly suggested.
Using white rags, wipe the solution on the bumper until the rag no longer picks up a yellow color. You can spray it down with a spray bottle and let it sit for a few minutes then hose it off....to get the bulk of it.
The layer of chrome is extremely thin (and hard) and is only there to protect the nickel, which would start oxidizing quickly without it. Also it should be noted that chrome is actually clear so you cant see if its all off. The rag test will show you when your done.
When your all done it wouldnt hurt to neutralize the acid with some baking soda. You can spray on a baking soda water mixture or sprinkle the soda directly on the bumper, then rinse. If putting the soda directly on bumper, wet it down with water first.