Denali Style Grill in Shiny Chrome – Looking for Input and Help

[Jura6ix]

Hi Everyone,

I'm interested in swapping out the grill on my '22 SLT for an aftermarket Denali grill in shiny chrome, to match the rest of the trim, instead of the OEM brushed/matte chrome.

I've seen a few options on Amazon and eBay (photo attached), but I haven't been able to find any reference photos of this exact swap with the shiny chrome Denali grill. Has anyone here done this or have any pictures they could share?

Also, I know the full chrome aesthetic isn't popular with everyone, but I'd love to hear your opinions on opting for this look instead of the OEM brushed chrome on the front while keeping shiny chrome for the rest. I'm not interested in a black grill and understand that I'll likely need a replacement Denali camera from GMC.

Thanks in advance!

 

[KMeloney]

My understanding is that the "brushed" chrome you're referring to on the Denalis is called "galvano" chrome by GM (vs the "bright" chrome you're referring to. It's also my understanding that Denalis only come with either Galvano chrome or "Vader" (dark) chrome, and not bright chrome.

...And to be clear, the chrome around the windows is all bright chrome, regardless of the model of Yukon, and that only the door trim and front end trim (including the fender badges) will be other than bright chrome on the Denalis.

So, if all of that is true as I believe it to be, then you're not going to be able to check out a OEM bright chrome Denali grill on a truck -- only an aftermarket one (likely on a non-Denali Yukon). But that being said, these aftermarket grills all look fantastic from what I've seen, and so I wouldn't hesitate to put one on my truck. (In fact, I considered going to all bright chrome trim on my black Denali to have everything match the window molding, but have grown accustomed to the Galvano chrome and the slight mismatch doesn't bother me like it initially did.)

To summarize, given the chance to swap your grill to bright chrome (vs Galvano) to match the rest of the chrome on your truck, I wouldn't think twice about doing it. It'll look great.

 

[pa31p]

Somebody on TYF did the factory swap. there’s a thread on it around here somewhere. good instructions on how to do it. like the brushed one myself.

 

[Jura6ix]

Hi KMeloney. Thank you for your response and for clarifying the proper names of the chrome types I was referring to. "Shiny chrome" did sound a bit off, but I wasn’t sure what else to call it.

I should have been more specific: I’m looking for a reference photo of a non-Denali with an aftermarket bright chrome grill. I understand that Denalis only come with either bright or Vader chrome.

I didn’t realize Denalis still feature some bright chrome, but I think the mismatch would be more noticeable if I used an OEM Galvano chrome grill, even with the galvano grill surround and hood trim.

 

[Jura6ix]

Somebody on TYF did the factory swap. there’s a thread on it around here somewhere. good instructions on how to do it. like the brushed one myself.

Excellent! I'll keep searching. Thank you.

 

[KMeloney]

I should have been more specific: I’m looking for a reference photo of a non-Denali with an aftermarket bright chrome grill. I understand that Denalis only come with either bright or Vader chrome.

I didn’t realize Denalis still feature some bright chrome, but I think the mismatch would be more noticeable if I used an OEM Galvano chrome grill, even with the galvano grill surround and hood trim.

No problem!

I think you were perfectly specific in your post. I just took it a bit deeper, since I initially didn't know what the different chromes were called before researching it when I first got my truck.

To be clear re the highlighted part of your post above, I think that Denalis only come with Galvano or Vader chrome, and NOT bright chrome (except for around the windows, which I believe is bright chrome on all models of both Yukons and Tahoes). And I think (but don't know for sure) that all SLTs come with only bright chrome -- so you already have a bright chrome surround around your non-Denali grill, correct? Assuming that's the case, yes, I'd absolutely go with a bright [aftermarket] chrome grill on your truck. Yes, a Galvano one would look like crap on your truck, assuming all of the rest of your trim is bright.

...But back to your main point, yes, I think you're going to be hard pressed to see many examples of this particular swap done on SLTs, since most SLT owners who swap their grill for a Denali-style one typically go for a black or Vader chrome one, and not [matching] bright chrome ones.