Dickson

I am considering blacking out the running boards like many mentioned here. The vehicle is a matte black g550 and sadly the running board becomes the most shinning piece of the vehicle. I temporarily wrap it by a black carbon-fiber style vinyl wrap.

A few threads here discussed different options and it seemed powder coating is the common recommendation if I want it to last long. Is it too crazy to DIY to remove the running board from the vehicle to take them to a powder coating factory? It looks like I will need to remove the lock pins form tire well, and un-tire the bolts that attach the running boards to the vehicle ... anything else? Saw someone mentioned removing the wheel fenders ...

P.S. Mercedes made a few good improvements on de-chroming in the 2021 (Matte) Night package, most of the black-out mods people mentioned for the 2019 models are now included. I recommend the package. However, I really think it was a mistake that they "forgot" to blackout the running board.

The Butcher

Taking the running boards off is not too difficult. Mostly just a bunch of bolts to undo, and a couple of clips. What is the real PITA is removing the rubber strips that are integrated into the running boards. Those have to come out (and eventually go back in) in order to powdercoat them. I talked to one guy that did it himself, and it was a several hour project to remove them and then reinstall them. He said he probably wouldn't do it again just because of how tedious and labor intensive it is. The rubber strips slide into the running board, and they are snug fit. As you can imagine, trying to stuff the rubber strip back into the slot becomes a real pain as you get more of it installed. So, it's doable, but not easy.

Dickson

Thanks for the reply!

I decided not to powder coat for the exact reasons you mentioned. A local detail store offered to wrap the running boards for me. They are testing a new product and decided that the running boards are small enough that they can do it for me for free.

ash0468

Is spraying plastic up or that rubberized coating an option?

Dickson

They told me "painting" is an option. However they recommended trying with wrapping first, because it is much cheaper and revertible if not being satisfied.