I have both bumper covers off my W126, and they are both chipped and/or scuffed in places. The front for obvious reasons (rocks and curbs) and the rear..because my mom didn't know how far to pull up in the garage... So..do you think while they are off I should get them repainted? Can any bodyshop do this? Do they use a special paint or should anything special be done when repainting these?

A question to go along with that...the car was rearended a couple years ago (nothing but bumper paint damage) and when they body shop repainted it, they painted the entire bumper a flat or matte grey. The front bumper however, is flat or matte on the very top strip, but the rest of it is like a semi-gloss grey. Did the body shop mess up and the front and rear should be the same?

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'86 420SE Euro
904 Midnight Blue, Gray Velour
Dad bought it new, now I own it.

"A Mercedes-Benz is like a fine wine, it only gets better with age."

Not 100% sure about Euro's, but my US 85 SEL has got a glossy (clear coat?) appearance on all the bumper surrounds.

I guess finding replacement Euro bumpers could be problematic, so repair is your most feasible choice.

A quality body shop should have no problem with this project, especially if you have removed them from the car. Prep work is the key. If they do not do it right (basically per the paint mfr. recommendations, the paint will peel off like a bad sunburn (two weeks later).

I would get it done, and I would not necessarily go with the lowest bid. Check references, look over the shop, and eyeball some of the cars/workmanship while there. Then make your choice. Body shops that lowball are usually cutting corners either in labor, or materials.

They definitely don't need to be replaced. They just have "normal wear and tear" scuffing and stuff...just surface damage. So are your bumpers completely glossy or just the bottom part under that first strip like I described?

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'86 420SE Euro
904 Midnight Blue, Gray Velour
Dad bought it new, now I own it.

"A Mercedes-Benz is like a fine wine, it only gets better with age."

I need to confirm, but pretty sure they have a gloss look from top to bottom. Of course Euro bumpers are significantly different than US. So I am kind of guessing here that the US added chrome and longer brackets are different, but that the surrounds are relatively similar.

In the end, it is probably a personal preference, but I would think a good clear coat/gloss finish would help with the bug juices

I smacked the rear bumper last winter and then decided to get both the the rear & front (some small scuffs) repainted in April.

Had it done at a shop that only did paint work and detailing. They matched the paint well and put a clear coat over it. The bumpers look much glossier than they did before, but my guess is that the factory used clear coat and more than likely it had worn off after 11 years.

A bodyshop probably would have matched the paint a bit better, but I saved at least a few hundred dollars.

Since it's a small job, you might be able to find a similiar outfit and save yourself some money -- and as mentioned before, check refs and look at some of the cars in their shop.

My bumpers had what looked to be a very light clear coat. Not as shine as the US bumper but half the size. The only problem is getting the paint code from MB if you want to use MB paint. I looked into it because my dads friend hit the 500 with the LeBaron hurting both. Go for painting them much cheaper than replacing Euro bumpers IMO

Check out "World Upholstry." They probably have an exact match to original and clear coat to boot. It's worth looking them up in yahoo. I used their spray cans on my interior - and leather seats (leather and uphol. dye) and turned out great, perfect match and wears great. Interior door jambs that faded also.

Well could I just order a can of bumper paint from MB? My mom is going to Germany this summer and she is making a part run for me over there for euro parts....could she get some over there if it's not available here? And is the bumper painted and then clearcoated or is the glossy look in the paint?

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'86 420SE Euro
904 Midnight Blue, Gray Velour
Dad bought it new, now I own it.

"A Mercedes-Benz is like a fine wine, it only gets better with age."