Painted bumpers instead of chrome - insane?

[ptashek]

It's not a secret chrome plating is prohibitively expensive, and finding a good plater, who won't mess up both the parts and the plating, is easier said than done. I have a spare set in good order with original chrome (!) from the 350 which I will just polish and use as-is, but the 450 ones need restoration and would make good spares "just in case".

How about sandblasting the chrome off, and painting the bumpers shiny black (silver would look dodgy, I think)? An insane idea?

[jbrasile]

ptashek,

I don't think it is insane....but in my opinion if you are going black it should be flat black, probably powder coated to ensure a perfect finish. And to  get a real mean look I would also do the rest of the moldings and add some black Pentas. I can still remember seeing a 6.9 in LA that was black with all the chrome also black and black Pentas, it just looked gorgeous.

Tks,

Joe

[John Hubertz]

The w116 AMG featured the monochrome color schemes in several colors, including black, red and white.  They would paint everything chrome body color.  Very period correct - especially if you could find an AMG front spoiler.

There have been huge strides in the quality of near-chrome finishes as well.  If a person had a bumper to experiment with I imagine you could very passably finish the bumpers to match bundt wheels, with good expectations of durability.

[oversize]

Not insane at all and if done properly will look nice!   

[ptashek]

I feel encouraged. I'll report back with pictures once this is done (some time this year...).

[djenka018]

AMG did the same...

and it looks awesome.

Lookup some W116 AMG pics

[entresz]

If anything the chrome, while being super classy can look dated too. I think colour matching would looks amazing if done well.

[adamb]

W126 looks right with non chrome bumpers but I see no reason other than cost to have W116 dechromed. IMO it akes away from W116 aesthetics. But as they say, horses for courses.

[WGB]

A couple of very period AMG shots from teh AMG adverts

[img]http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh219/WGB_album/AMG2.jpg/img]

[img]http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh219/WGB_album/AMG1.jpg/img]

Go the whole hog and make a period classic.

Bill

[AndreasF]

Hi,

if you're unsure about the look of black "chrome" on your car, make a dry run with plastidip.

http://www.plastidip.co.uk/

Easy on, easy of, you find a lot of entries about plastidip on youtube.

I've received my rattle can  a few days ago and I will try it for some parts on my W116. I'll keep you updated,

regards Andreas

[ptashek]

Hi,

if you're unsure about the look of black "chrome" on your car, make a dry run with plastidip.

http://www.plastidip.co.uk/

Easy on, easy of, you find a lot of entries about plastidip on youtube.

I've received my rattle can  a few days ago and I will try it for some parts on my W116. I'll keep you updated,

regards Andreas

That would be great, as I was actually thinking of using plastidip (it's nice and matt by default; relatively easy to remove too).

[Casey]

[John Hubertz]

carporn

[zook]

go for it, i plan to do it when my 280 moves and i can spend cash on non essentials..be a good test run