They're glass-filled nylon. The nylon is degrading and exposing the glass fibers beneath. Paint will solve it, so will buying a fresh set from the junkyard, especially a '90-up set with the stainless strip.

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Gone to the dark side

- Jeff

I bought a Back-to-Black kit from Bondo for $20. It comes with a bottle of the chemical and a foam pad with a handle. I put two coats and it lasts about 4 to 5 months in the ATL weather, my car is parked outside.

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2006 BMW M5 "Heidi" @ 109,000 miles
2005 MBZ C55 AMG "Lorelai" @ 165,000 miles
1991 MBZ 300E "Benzachino II" @ 165,000 miles
1990 MBZ 500SL "Shoshanna" @ 118,000 miles

(On the hunt for a good used M103 engine as of 6/10/23, PM me if you have one to sell!)

+1 you need brand new door handles if you want door handles that look like brand new. It's not a question of renewing the surfaces. The surfaces are gone. Professionally paint with a tough semigloss black w/ clear topcoat or get new ones. Nothing else will work. Even handles from a junkyard will be degraded.

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'02 BMW 325i
'85 300D 450k
'93 190E 2.6 170k(killed by tree)
'08 Ducati Hypermotard 1100S 6k
'06 Ducati S2R800 14k(sold)

I'm going to try and find a nice used set then. I can't imagine they are cheap if I had to buy new ones from the dealer. How hard are they to remove and replace?

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1989 300CE