IWRBB

So everyone says you can't paint the chrome without sandblasting it, but I'm a stubborn SOB so I went ahead and did it anyways. I first tried plastidip. I didn't like the finish. I did like the black grille though. I asked a vinyl guy about wrapping it and he said it'd need seams to get it right, and vinyl will get rock chips exposing the chrome. Onto the paint. I scuffed it with a red 3M pad first. Next came 3 coats of SEM ecthing primer. Next was about 4 coats of SEM sandable primer. I sanded the primer with 220 wet, dry, then wet a few more times. Next came Spraymax 1K gloss black, 3 color coats. I sanded that down with 220 until it was evenly dull with no glossy spots. Next came 3 coats of Spraymax 1K satin black. I sanded that down with 320 until it was even, then went over it with a scuff pad prior to the clear. Last came 4 coats of Spraymax 2K. Sanded the clear with 1000 grit, 1500 grit, 2000 grit, 2500 grit, rubbing compound, polish to a shine. The 2K clear has a hardener you release into it and should be much more durable than any other spray can clears. We'll see, she's going to have 1200 miles put on her in the next 4 days. In hindsight I should have just paid the $200 for the primed grille and had someone do it in a shop, but we'll see how it holds up. My paint buildup is pretty thick, but I'm hoping it'll help any chrome from showing if the clear takes a rock chip. I did it all outside hanging the grille from a fence with a tarp behind it for all the base work, and off my wife's shepard hook from her garden for the clear. I cleared the hook too with the extra I've only done the polishing one step past the rubbing compound stage as of now. I'll wait a month or so to polish it all the way. Pictures to follow.

Couple pics of it cleaned up, mainly as a before shot for the grille. Pulled the license plate bracket that was on it. Third pic is plastidipped grill. I did not like the finish, so I'm now painting it.

This was on the day we bought it. I've since clay barred it, polished, and waxxed it. I'll get some pics of it in the sun, it's really nice.

I like your wheels. I dislike the styling of the ones that are on mine though- chrome or not. They are in perfect shape though, no rash at all amazingly enough. I'm leaning towards the Mach M7 wheels or the ATX188s. Couple others are in the running too. The chrome clad thing- they are all like that now. They actually hold up better than "real" chromed aluminum wheels from what I've seen. They don't tend to peel or bubble as easily. The chrome coating is much thinner though, so you have to keep up on them. If you let it get bad, you'll have to polish them. You can use chrome polish but take it easy, there's not much there to polish.

Color is candy red, not ruby red. Can you not edit posts? Never mind, I see the button now..

Just wanted to introduce myself. We bought a 2010 Edge Sport Ruby Red a few weeks back. It only has 32000 miles on it. We picked it up for just under $22K. It does not have the pimpy 22" polished wheels, as every one we looked with those wheels at had horrible curb rash. People cannot drive. It does not have the nav system either. It does has the "loose" driver's seat, but it's not bad yet. Otherwise, it seems like everything is in good shape. The glass roof runs fairly quickly and has no leaks. Paint is nice as well. Seems like there are three major problems with these vehicles form what I've read: 1) Brake booster failure. 2) PCM/Coils failure 3) Rusting fuel tanks. I plan to put some black wheels on it to replace the horrid 20" chrome wheels. I've already yanked the bumper, dissembled the grille from it, and I'm in the process of painting the chrome grill gloss black. I also want to put some H&R springs on there one day to get rid of the jacked up look. I plan to hit any rusty areas underneath with some rust converter, then flood the bottom of the doors, tailgate, rockers, wheel arches and hood edges with fluid film before winter. I've done lots of work on my Fords in the past and I'm not afraid to get my hands dirty on this one. The fleet is at 4 now- 2000 F150, 2003 Cobra, 2010 Edge, 2011 Escape.

You need to take the cluster out. I've never done it in an Edge, but I've done it on numerous other Fords. Remove whatever is required (might want to pick up a service manual or DVD) until you can access the screws for the gauge cluster. Pull the cluster forward and unhook the plugs from the back. Once it's out of the car, you can take it apart and clean the plastic lens. (1st post here ever!)