jal723

I started doing mine today!
Does anyone other than the OP have any luck getting the chrome out of the grill?

I just masked off all the chrome bits and start painting.

Wish me luck!

vic viper

You need at least three flathead screwdrivers, tons of patience and a couple of band aids.

jal723

The paint job is done... however, I didn't do a good job at at!
I guess I need to bring the grill into a body shop tomorrow.

rb23lb

can i use a 320 grit sanding sponge for this?? i already have one at home and the can of VHT reccommneds this...

or is it a much better idea to use 800-grit paper like the op recommends?

or which type of scrub pad(i have no idea), like the kind u use to clean dishes

rb23lb

man no offesnse but this DIY sucks.... how the heck do i get the star out? i dont see any tabs where I can "widen the gaps".....

been looking for 10 mins now...

Kenc1103

The star is the easiest one to take out. You probably thought you are just taking out the chrome part of the star but not, you are taking out the entire plastic thing that holds the star. Hope that helps.

rb23lb

exactly, ya i figured it out eventually, came out real easy... of course after i already took the chrome star off! DOH!


turned out real good though, i just put it back on painted matte black...

TB5...

i concur...

wish someone did a better one... and by better i mean more in depth and more pictures of the actual removal.

Mike_2011

I just did this but my hood wont close correctly one side closes perfectly and in the other one there a gap. Any Idea?

bulletspec

Try pulling the bottom part of the grille, maybe one of the clips that add it to the bumper hasn't clipped yet!..

Mike_2011

Just Finished mine still figuring why the hood is not closing properly but here is a pic.

C200k W204

My fault guys for being very brief on the instructions

I figured you guys being car freaks, I left out things that are self explanatory. Next time on DIY, i will do a better job on it in details

As far as the hood not closing on one side, check to see if all the plastic panels on top of the headlights are cliped in properly, also see if you left out any tabs laying around in the way of closing the hood. Other than that, the grill looks like its in place and looks sweet

Derspeed

This may be the "offcial" DIY, but below is the original, and much more detailed, thread. BTW, to remove the grille, you just push real hard on the bottom. The rest of the procedure will be evident at that point.

https://mbworld.org/forums/c-class-w...-painting.html

TB5...

so let me just bump this rather than making a new thread...

first of all... i got the grill off which was a bit of a struggle... ravaged the twist lock... and broke 2 plastic clips all on the radiator cover...

other than that everything was good... wanted to do a gloss/matte look a la azn300...

after sanding and painting i saw that the paint was not drying properly there were areas the paint would not stick too... i assumed this was cause it was not sanded properly... i sanded again! and painted again...

the krylon gloss and matte black dried VERY similar... pretty disappointing... i put the trim back on and hit it with a clear satin coat...

when installing it i dented the paint ... so i repainted a bit... there are still dents in some areas... but i thought i could live with it.

i took some pics... will post later... with flash on the grille looks dusty as hell!!! even tho they aren't to the eye.

im thinkin of startin over again :\... what should i do.

forgive the long post

rb23lb

Your problem is the type of paint used maybe

Get VHT SP-27 Paint $13 Shipped, u will need only one can if you do about 3 coats

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/VHT-P...Q5fAccessories

It is a satin flat black and looks great and goes on VERY easily and sticks without drips if lightly sanded properly

TB5...

ok so i would have to sand off all the black paint coats that i sprayed i guess right?


here are a few pics... they look good but if you look closely you can see the dusty look.





btw planning on tiniting the headlights again... right now it's a huge contrast once the lights are tinting im hoping it will look better.

Derspeed

It doesn't look bad. Definitely use the VHT paint on the re-do though. You may need to sand the paint all the way off as the cheap Krylon paint may not be compatible with the VHT paint. I used three coats. A light tack coat, a second cover coat and a third medium wet coat. You can use a fourth coat if it looks uneven, but be careful. The VHT paint is real good at drying level and evenly. Follow the can instructions for drying time between coats, don't rush and allow the grille to dry for 24 - 48 hours before replacing the chrome. Unless you are doing the whole thing in black.

rb23lb

TB5...

hmmm yea i think i will be removing the trim again... and going for a gloss look on those pieces...

sanding is ridiculously tedious... what do you think about those little mouse sanders.. and like a 600 - 800 grit paper? rather than by hand.

something like this...

Boris0126

I was thinking on painting the whole grill black and leaving the Mercedes sign chrome. If I paint the chrome part will it start chipping? Has any1 painted the chrome part?

Derspeed

TB5, you may distort the surface if you use that. I have one and rips through paint. You may want to start with 1000 grit if you use it. At first, I was trying to remove the MB silver paint from the grille because it is black underneath. I did a lot of searching and learned that Modelers (model car builders) use oven cleaner to remove old paint from plastic parts. Just try. The worst that can happen is you'll need to buy a new grille.

Boris, do a search. There are some who have done it.

TB5...

yea ill try to be as gentle as possible... thanks derspeed & 23lb

zankok

Hi, sorry i got stuck at the very first stage, I find this little circle piece super hard to come off, i rotate it 90 degreen, used flat head to go in and twist but it just wont come out, i only see the plastic bending, i was worried I might break the plastic so I had to stop,
For those who had done it, it is just slide in and twist that easy??

C300Sport

Aint that the truth...that had to be one of the biggest pains in the a$$ I have tried in a while. I found that a couple really thin and flat butter knives worked well and didn't chew up the plastic as much as the flathead screwdrivers I started out with...funny thing is the luxury grill I am running now is actually starting to grow on me...

C300Sport

I was a bit aggressive with mine and popped one of the prongs off. Stopped by the MB dealer to pick up a new one for when I swap the grills back and was amazed that that one little fastner (002-988-05-42) cost me $7.20 plus tax. Guess I should take it easy next time and will reach underneath and through the grill to help coax it out if it refuses to budge.