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Debadge front Grill

8K views 25 replies 10 participants last post by  Waiheke 
#1 · (Edited)
I know for some this will be heresy, with people asking "why!?", but I have my reasons.

Has anyone debadged the front grill of a 3rd generation SLK removing the chrome star and the crossbar? If so, what problems did you encounter?

 

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#18 ·
I would rather it look like a Mercedes, but to each his own. Only issue is cosmetic, why do that when you can just dip it and remove later if you want or if you sell. Pull it off and you'll have the voids where the trim goes. Or just do custom grill job. One more thing, better keep original parts if you ever sell it. Oh by the way, I get it , trust me I do, I just never got into the whole suit thing because it just don't amount to a hill of beans:grin:
 
#8 ·
Completely debadging the front looks tricky and would be easier to achieve if there were aftermarket parts available, etc.

Blacking out the chrome with Plastidip, regular paint or wrapping is another option to tame down the front.

I've used Plastidip which I really like and it's easily reverted back to stock.
 
#11 ·
No Distronic installed on my car so definitely no problem. The Distronic equipped cars have that smooth badge don't they. Would look a bit crappy blacked out I suspect. I have the standard 3D star type badge on my SLK, easy to remove and disassemble for Plastidipping etc.
 
#13 ·
Distronic has the flat three point star all right, but the fixture mechanism is the same as the non-Distronics. A twist and pull mechanism only for flat disc with a rim on the back containing the hooks that fall into the slots of the grill surrounding.

One of the German tuners supplies the same 'disc' with its own trademark on it (maybe Vaeth?). I may give the plastidip a try to see how it works out (when its warmer outside!).
 
#14 ·
This ebay post has a couple of pictures that will give you a good idea of the layout and obvious difficulty in recreating it from grill like material.

MERCEDES SLK R172 W72 FRONT UPPER RADIATOR GRILL P/N A1728880160 GENUINE | eBay

The chromed bits with the star emblem 'brake' the mesh into two parts. It would look ugly just removing the chrome plastics. Recreating the mesh may be an option but attaching it to the surrounding material will be a challenge. Maybe if you have the right equipment to melt the parts together?
 
#17 ·
Great Link. Thanks.



So looking at the photograph, this looks simple. Carefully cut out the perimeter of the mesh, noting that for some reason the bottom half is solid, not vented.
Take the surround to a machine shop and pay them to make an insert.
Choices: cheap plastic on ebay, woven wire or even do a laser cut design.
Hard to tell from the image if there is much of a curve on the plastic. If there is, a good shop is able to replicate this in metal.



Attaching the stainless grill would involve putting a 90 degree bend on the perimeter and attaching it to the plastic with rivets. Fairly simple work for a car restoration shop.

BTW, for those who don't get it, it's like a Savile Row suit. They don't have labels. It's the cut that tells the knowing what they are looking at. In the car world, it's like driving a Bristol. "Nicely understated, never underrated"
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