mbzusr

When I looked at catalog combinations for repainting my 300CE, I really wanted to do a one or two tone scheme with the bumper matching the cladding. Once scheme I found on a Russian site and paintscratch for 1990 w124 was this bison brown though I had never seen it in the states.

When the paint shop didn't paint the bumpers I was not sure I liked keeping them that way especially since 94/95 Mercedes was using matching colors for cladding/bumpers. I drove it home and took some pictures first. Then I decided to live with it because the profile is mean looking.

I'm now seeing lots of 2012 cars and trucks adding black elements from the underside, sides and bumper. I'm not trying to live for society, but it seems the style is coming back.

What do others think? Also a picture of my 1990.

Old:


New:

chomp_sticks

Looks silly in those pics mainly because the two tone is so drastic in color. On yours it looks fine to me though,

mbzusr

The two tone is drastic how?

The other W124 two tones of the era include black and silver, anthracite and chinchilla, red and silver or chinchilla (can't recall which), green and silver... to name a few.

Again, I'm seeing black bumpers making a comeback in new cars Today. I think we'll not only see black bumper parts but also two tone make a comeback IMO.

chomp_sticks

The differences in the two tones make the black bumper stick out more.

Black bumpers for some reason always show up on models when they first come out. When they are face-lifted, you often see the black parts disappear. Or when you opt for more options on your car the black parts end up getting painted. I don't think it's really coming back, I think manufactures are trying to cut down costs by have less parts to paint.

mbzusr

Actually, it's starting to come on already established models in styling refreshes, much like you saw black B pillars starting to show up on cars in the 90s. The new 2013 X3 /X1 from BMW are beauts WITH a black scheme. Notice black also in the underside and wheel wells. The new scheme with black makes the car more rugged IMO and a good step for BMW to pursue.


I think the idea is the same here, rugged aggressive looks


Same thing here

SUVs pics with 5 minutes searching on the web. I think black ground effects are now an option on the 2013 Mustang but can't find pictures of one right now.

teezer

.


here ya go




i gave some thought to doing the wheel centers in the cladding color, but switched wheels



.

JOE49

Here's the look i like.

JOE49

Wish I could take better pics. How do you enlarge when uploading?

RHW

load them to
www.photobucket.com then photobucket will give you an image link to post here, full size.

Brownie looks great, I'd match the bumpers to the car color but that is what this thread is about, black bumpers!

mbzusr

Thanks teezer and JOE49 for the pics.
JOE49, nice scheme and the wheel mod!

If you go with the newer scheme and match bumper to cladding, it would be a bit more bland IMO. Kudos also for keeping the original front yellow markers and rear red/yellow markers. I was tempted when adding the euro lights to do the front in clear or clear/yellow and the rear in red/white but thought that with an earth tone like brown, the original colors added character.

RHW, thanks for chiming in and being part of the discussion. MB made the shift at the end of production cycle, but since the industry seems to be shifting back, the 8x-93 W124 owners, I think, no longer have to change.

Note, my black original bumper was unpainted by the body shop. I asked them to at least repaint it black since it was worn but they had it way too shiney at first. Then then used a technique to matte it out by sanding again and spraying more air than paint if that makes sense to anyone. That gave it a modern-looking uniform look as seen in the garage pic.