Well, if you are out this way on your road trip, drop on by. I'll introduce you to Sonoran Desert cuisine and we can swap lies.

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“Whatever story you're telling, it will be more interesting if, at the end you add, "and then everything burst into flames.”
― Brian P. Cleary, You Oughta Know By Now

I'm thinking that's too far from home for me. I'll probably hang out in the deep south.

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Suit yourself. Just means more grub for me.

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“Whatever story you're telling, it will be more interesting if, at the end you add, "and then everything burst into flames.”
― Brian P. Cleary, You Oughta Know By Now

Mike, what 2 part clear do you recommend? I have a pair of Bosch euro headlights and a grille insert and only need a quart.

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I've never had any luck with clear coating headlamp lenses. Other people swear by it but I think the excessive U-V rays we have here are just too much for the clear. They always seem to yellow or chip for me. Might be the applier but for whatever reason it doesn't seem to last. I have a mini polisher I picked up from Matco and use when needed.

https://www.matcotools.com/catalog/product/SE730K/silver-eagle-mini-polishing-kit/#to-details

Kind of pricey for the average Joe though. I bought it when I was maintaining a fleet of commercial vehicles.

Clear coating the grill insert is a personal choice. I don't do it because when the clear chips it looks worse than if it wasn't coated. We've got so many crappy roads and blowing sand that chipping is only a matter of "when".

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“Whatever story you're telling, it will be more interesting if, at the end you add, "and then everything burst into flames.”
― Brian P. Cleary, You Oughta Know By Now

I changed the color of the bumpers, back of the exterior rear view mirrors and fluted trim on qtr panels, doors and fenders. That grille really needs to match.

The grille is in perfect condition but it's still 35 years old so I don't expect it to last more than a few more years anyway.

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Ahhh, a color change is different than a preservative coat of clear. I'd still go for a matte finish color. Matter of taste, I suppose.

If you stayed with an original Mercedes color there are numerous vendors who sell "rattle cans" of matching colors. Try "Paint Scratch". I've had good luck with their spray on bumpers, grills, cladding, etc.

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“Whatever story you're telling, it will be more interesting if, at the end you add, "and then everything burst into flames.”
― Brian P. Cleary, You Oughta Know By Now

I bought and shot both Cromax two part base and Cromax two part clear for the bumper covers and misc plastic trim but ran out of clear before I got to the grille. I'm just going to shoot the color on the grille and use USC's two part clear in a rattle can. It shoots a sucky texture but the grille won't show it.

The color is a little brighter and draws a bit more attention to the plastic than the original gray because it has a bit of flakes in it. I should have just matched the original but it's all done now so it is what it is.

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84 300SD
85 380SE
83 528e
95 318ic