Painted grill insert on 300E

[Agron80]

Just painted the grill insert on my 300E. Used a low gloss black, 500 degree high temp engine compartment enamel. Looks great, and it was pretty much easy to do--except for the 4 clips on corners of the grill--pain in the butt. I do recommend doing this. Took about 2 hours (drying paint) for everything. Its amazing what a $4 can of spray paint can do to the look of the car.



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Agron
1989 300E
Monotoned Smoke Silver
97 Style Replica E420 Rims 205/55/16
Euro Headlights
Clear Corners
20% Tint
12" Sub-enclosure

[Arthur Dalton]

Couldn't agree more. Did my E320 with
Satin Black and it makes the nose stand out nicely.

For those interested , the chrome strips slide off vs. lifting.

agron80,
just bought a can of high temp engine paint myself today for my 89 300e...attempted to paint the grill, but was not able to remove the plastic grill from the assembly. i did take off the two screws from the top of the chrome grill in the back, and the screwat the bottom of the grill. my question is: how do i remove the plastic insert from the assembly. the clips look menacing and i dont want to snap them. can you please tell me how to remove the plastic insert. thanks.

[jeffsr]

The clips have to come off. I used a pair of needle nose pliers and some WD-40. Gave each a quick shot, grabbed the fat end of the clip and worked them off. Not a big deal.

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Jeff Lawrence
1987 300e
1989 300e
1987 BMW 325

[Agron80]

Jeff is right--the clips do have to come off. The clips are what actually holds in the grill, besides the screws. It takes alittle patience. I used 2 screwdrivers, one to pull up on the slim end of the clip, and another to push out on the fat end of the clip. After removing the clips, your gonna have to pry alittle and push out the insert from the grill. Make sure you clean the insert and prep it before painting. I actually threw it in my tub, and washed it with soap and water. Then, just paint away, let dry, and reverse the steps. Also, dont forget the grill badge screw and nut. This is what holds the top of the insert, and the grill badge. Be careful taking it out, its in a very tight area, and I lost the nut, which i had to crawl under the car to find it. Putting it back takes some patience, and is a pain in the butt--well, you'll see what I mean. In the end, its gonna look really nice.

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Agron
1989 300E
Monotoned Smoke Silver
97 Style Replica E420 Rims 205/55/16
Euro Headlights
Clear Corners
20% Tint
12" Sub-enclosure

[This message has been edited by Agron80 (edited 07-17-2000).]

[420SEL]

Any of you guys have pictures of your work that you can post or email? I'd like to see how it looks.

Thanks.


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Jason Priest
1986 420SEL

[Agron80]

I have several pictures of my car (without the painted insert), but I dont have a clue of how to post them on here. If anyone is willing to post my pictures, I will e-mail the pictures to them so that they can post them. Or, if you want to see the pictures, e-mail me, and I will send them to you.



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Agron
1989 300E
Monotoned Smoke Silver
97 Style Replica E420 Rims 205/55/16
Euro Headlights
Clear Corners
20% Tint
12" Sub-enclosure

[420SEL]

I just did the grill on my 1986 420SEL last night and it looks fantastic. I never would have thought of it if it weren't for you guys. Thanks for the idea.



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Jason Priest
1986 420SEL

Here are the pictures of agron80's 300E without the painted grill and chrome exhaust. Enjoy!















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Phil Ly

1987 300E Midnight Blue
Remus Sport Exhaust
European headlights
Clear corners
AMG 17in Monoblock IIs (hopefully soon)
Eibach Lowering Springs

[CJ]

I just painted mione and I wanted to pass on how I removed the grill.
Raise the grill and you will see 2 obvious bolts, one on the far left and one on the far right. After you remove those 2 bolts there are 4 hdden bolts that need to come out. The best way to see these is to lean bckwards in the engine compartment and look through the grill, up at the top where the insulation is. After you remove those four bolts, the grill slides up, I had to tap mine with a rubber mallet to get it out. Lay the gill face down on a towel and remove the 1 bolt that holds on the flat MBZ crest, Then remove the phillips screw on the bottom. The four clips slide off when raise with a screw driver and then finaly all of the chrome strips slide right off.
It looks 110% better with the grill painted.
Good luck!

[420SEL]

I was able to take the plastic insert of the grill out without removing the chrome frame. Just as easy.