I have a Smoke Silver 300E and had the grill done. I ordered a new plastic insert and aluminum strips/clips from partsShop (I think it was less than $30) because the old one had pits and dings from the years, and had my local body shop spray it matte (satin) black, and they added a satin clearcoat. They didn't charge me, as I have had most of my repair work done at their shop in the past. It looks just like the new MB grills! It has held up well over the last 6 months, with no pitting. As someone else suggested on this forum, I used Kiwi leather Scuff Magic on the hood release, and it has held up pretty well and blends in with the grill better than the original grey color. Along with Euro lights, the new grill took 10 years off of the car's front end. Hope this helps.

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John

2003 Firemist Red/grey leather SL 500
2015 Palladium Silver/black mbtex GLK 350
1987 Smoke Silver/burgundy mbtex 300E Sportline (SOLD)

Click to see 87 300E