Just was trying to decide on color options for my 22 G63. I may go with the stainless or chromed front lower brush guard or the black. Have any of you with the black brush guard had good luck with the finish not chipping and scratching easy? I wasn't sure if it is a paint or if it is indeed a stainless brush guard that is chemically blackened.

 

I have a black brush guard on mine. Driven the car for two winters. Held up pretty well minus a few rock chips but nothing powder coating won’t fix. It is painted obsidian black metallic from the factory.
Look into getting it covered in Xpel if you’re concerned about scratches and chips.
Hope that helps.

 

All I needed to know. I was wondering if it was a paint or chemical process. Now I know. Thanks Again.

 

The black version is powder-coated, a much more durable finishing method than paint. It holds up well, doesn't peel off or blister on its own, but a rock can ding it just like any other surface finish. My enthusiasm for the G63's "cow-catcher" is low - I think it looks like it belongs on an amusement park bumper car, and is one reason I opted for an ordinary G550.

 

''Cow Catcher," lmao! That is funny! And now that you mention bumper car lol. I had the prior series with the ramming speed big bumper and loved that look. Is the silver a powder coated finish as well? Or is it matte stainless or chrome? Thanks

 

Chrome is (I believe) an electroplating process, while powder coating is an electrostatic process. In powder coating, an electrically charged pigmented powder concoction is sprayed onto the metal that has an opposite electric charge, creating a molecular bond, and then it's baked at a high temperature to create the finish. I haven't seen the silver finish, but powder coating can produce every color and effect imaginable (and even some that aren't!). Doubtful that it's stainless steel as SS prices have gone through the ceiling. Even a simple SS fastener now lists for several times that of an ordinary zinc plated steel fastener.

 

You are correct in the methods of bonding between the two materials. The Rockwell hardness of chrome is amazing but can still rust. Lower grades of stainless can as well but not as easy. I hear you on the price of stainless. I do some welding and fabrication at home and bought a 3/8 inch thick 3x4 304 stainless plate and it was very expensive. That was before pricing got nuts. Had to have it to make my pizza machine table (: I am thinking the silver finish on the G63 guard is simply a matte chrome. It isn't super shiny like the prior gens polished chrome. Probably bead blasted then chromed.

When I decided on going back to the G, I had to modify a cart and build something for material support. (:

 

I called the dealer and they said the silver is a matte stainless and the guards have always been stainless. The prior model was polished out. Just passing the info.

 

The dealer is telling you that MB black powder coats stainless steel? That's like having your Olympic gold medal bronzed!

 

I don't know what coatings they do. I just asked them if the silver bumper was a hard chrome or stainless. I can tell you with high grade stainless rifle barrels, they are sometimes coated over with black and are stainless underneath. By either a chemical process or another epoxy based product. That would give the buyer another color option I suppose with the push guard. They color yellow gold by using rhodium as well, or mix metals with yellow gold to get white gold, which looks more silver. In the end that would take you from an Olympic gold to a silver (:

Update: Here you go, painted stainless steel!

https://mercteil.com/amg-g-63-black-...retrofit-Ped20

 

Got out my drill to core sample my G550's bar, but the battery was dead. So I used a magnet and found that the bar is strongly magnetic, and conclude the lowly G550's bar is ordinary steel. Cheaper grades of stainless steel are mildly magnetic, but your SubZero will never hold a fridge magnet. SS is heavier than ordinary steel, and with weight reduction emphasis to game EPA numbers, SS seems an odd choice for a painted bar.

 

As someone that black powder coats stainless steel (exhaust tips), the reason you use stainless steel is when it does get chipped (and it will), it will not rust.

 

Yes depending on the chromium content, the magnet test sometimes works. I seen photos of the bars wall thickness and it is pretty thin. Stainless is generally 2 times heavier than mild steel. But more strength is gained in a bigger piece of tubing that is thin then a smaller piece of tubing that is thicker. Given they both have the same mass. The bigger tubing is more eye appealing and rugged looking. SS simply gives more durability and corrosion resistance. It also retains strength at very high and low temperatures. Perfect place on the front where it is needed for a vehicle that loves the desert and the arctic. Might have to push a Rhino or an ice mass out of the way (:

 

You just read part of my mind before I sent my post I was typing. (: