Painted Grill on 500E's?

[fherdeg]

Hello everyone, I really like the appearance of the grill painted to match the car color, but it looks to me like this is more common with AMG cars and almost nonexistent with 500Es. I am new to the 500eboard and about to take possession of my first 500E, so I have a lot of learning to do! Thanks in advance for any feedback.

 

[JC220]

If you were looking to do that I would suggest the chrome would need to be shot blasted to provide a key and acid etch primer also used to ensure good adherence before top coats

 

[500AMM]

Here is the modded Avantgarde grill on my car, as it came when I bought it. The pre-facelift chrome grill frame is merged with the hood and painted in the car color.

 

[gsxr]

You are correct, this isn't a particularly common modification. A brand new grille insert in the factory gray color usually looks really good, but old faded inserts that are a light gray color may not be very attractive. Make sure to prep the plastic correctly for good paint adhesion, as JC220 noted above. And you have to decide if you want to also paint the stainless steel trim strips and/or chrome surround, or just the insert.

Congrats on the purchase! What car did you buy? Most cars for sale are listed in the classified section here.

Welcome to the forum!

 

[Bogeyman]

I would get an aftermarket one or a used one to paint rather than paint the original.

 

[duuder]

a light body color, probably no. something darker would look ok - what color is your car?

 

[r44raven]

I painted the (usually light grey) plastic insert on my 500E matt black - and I think it looks quite good?

 

[szvook]

I thought about color matching the OEM grill insert when I first got my whip, but wanted a more subtle look. So I got an Avantgarde style grill insert with a glossy black finish instead, with silver/chrome edges, similar to the insert that 500AMM has, but for a pre-facelift grill/car. But I did not want to color match the grill itself, just to update the insert. I like the way the chrome color of the grill frame plays off the chrome in the Euro headlights. The OEM insert was too busy looking and looked like a checkerboard. The Avantgarde insert freshens up the look of the car, imho.

 

[DerFuror]

Similar to szvook, I removed my original grille in favor of the Avantgarde style. The original is safely stored on a shelf.

At first, I considered painting the original grille, but finally decided to preserve its originality & purchase the Avantgarde instead.

 

[ArauzMotoring]

I thought about color matching the OEM grill insert when I first got my whip, but wanted a more subtle look. So I got an Avantgarde style grill insert with a glossy black finish instead, with silver/chrome edges, similar to the insert that 500AMM has, but for a pre-facelift grill/car. But I did not want to color match the grill itself, just to update the insert. I like the way the chrome color of the grill frame plays off the chrome in the Euro headlights. The OEM insert was too busy looking and looked like a checkerboard. The Avantgarde insert freshens up the look of the car, imho.

Such a great shot of your car!

 

[szvook]

Such a great shot of your car!

Thank you. There was a benefit to running the car on racetracks, one could get good photos of the car in action.

 

[fherdeg]

Thank you this is so helpful! I really like the Avantgarde style grill insert, I will probably do that. The car is a 1993, 040 black. I don't feel comfortable sharing the car info yet since it's a private seller and I would like to complete the sale before I reveal the details. But I should be able to share the info within a week or so. szvook and DerFuror those shots are great. Thanks again!

 

[2phast]

This is what I did. Stock grill frame, shaved hood emblem by welding backing plate and thin layer of filler. Grill frame was de-chromed first, then primered and painted body color. Originally I painted the grill also, but it was too much red, so opted for an advant garde grill

 

[500AMM]

I thought about color matching the OEM grill insert when I first got my whip, but wanted a more subtle look. So I got an Avantgarde style grill insert with a glossy black finish instead, with silver/chrome edges, similar to the insert that 500AMM has, but for a pre-facelift grill/car. But I did not want to color match the grill itself, just to update the insert. I like the way the chrome color of the grill frame plays off the chrome in the Euro headlights. The OEM insert was too busy looking and looked like a checkerboard. The Avantgarde insert freshens up the look of the car, imho.

Steve, just FYI - the mods on my car is on the pre-facelift grill.

At a closer study of that mods, it appears to be used filler only in the gap between the grill frame and hood. The paint/filler has already cracked along that gap due to normal flex in the grill during driving. However, it still looks nice on distance. I have a spare grill frame with Avantgarde grill insert so I'll see what I do in the future. But I think the MB-star goes back on, that MB button below goes off, a painted original grill insert goes back on. It will be a blissful mix I know, but it's my taste and AFAIK my life will hardly go in reply - but who knows...

 

[szvook]

Steve, just FYI - the mods on my car is on the pre-facelift grill.

My bad, you are correct.

 

[maw1124]

Mine already presents an "oppressive tyranny of monochrome Mercedes silver" anyway -- which was wholly intentional -- so I didn't think about painting the grille.

I felt like timeless was modern enough.

maw

 

[puchak]

Since the materials are similar, has anyone here had any experience painting their cladding to their body color? Mine is very worn and chipping.

I know painted metal and plastic can differ in final appearance.

 

[gerryvz]

I ran the "avantgarde" facelift grill for nearly 20 years on my E500. However, when I did my Top-End Refresh during the pandemic in 2020, I opted to purchase a brand-new factory grill insert (gray) and replaced the aftermarket insert with the factory insert. I've been happy with how things look going back to the stock look/color. I wouldn't mind a black/dark stock/factory insert as a mod, but at this point won't bother with it.

The aftermarket grill insert was pretty weathered and faded, I think mainly from 80K miles worth of driving over some 18 years or so. The car has always been garaged, so it isn't because of outdoors exposure outside of regular driving. Honestly I was never super happy with the overall quality of the aftermarket avantgarde grill insert, though it wasn't obvious when installed.