[Dollywobbler]

That's probably the best solution. The paint on the bonnet is utterly ruined anyway. It looks like it went through an automatic car wash, but someone had replaced the brushes with wire wool.

[matthewsemple]

I have that look too! I have a silver 416 which has virtually no lacquer and looks like it has been through the car wash on a daily basis. Someone recently asked if it was brushed aluminium! It has that DeLorean look.

[carl747]

Do like a white 400

[threelitre]

Those look like non-colour coded bumpers that someone has painted. I have never seen a 400 with the non-colour coded bumpers which hasn't had grey door bottoms. Incidentally the grey door bottoms are a vinyl covering not paint. Underneath the grey is the paint like the rest of the car.

The grey is not vinyl, it is grey lacquer painted over the base colour of the car. Door bottoms, lower parts of the rear arches and front wings as well as sills have been painted. I do only know about the 200 series that not all models had the two-tone finish. But (grey) non-painted bumpers were only fitted to cars with grey lower halves. Later cars got black over colour bumpers. According to http://www.aronline.co.uk/blogs/cars/ro ... er-200400/ there was a short time with single colour cars, featuring grey rubbing strips and short indicators. (appearing at the same tima as the earliest 200 Cabriolets featuring grey rubbing strips, but single colour body work). Looking at the pics of the car as bought, it seems to have all the original bits on, apart from wheels, rear lenses, headlamp strips, grille and rear spoiler. Does it still have the two-colour centre console? Oh, and get yourself some nice orange/white/red rear lamps ;)

Regards,

Alexander

[matthewsemple]

Hmm, on our car the grey has worn off revealing silver underneath. There is also an edge round the back of the door and unlike the silver, which has worn away all the lacquer and is covered in micro scratches, the grey has survived without any damage.

All of the above led me to believe it was a different material. But I may be wrong. It certainly is not the same material as the upper coat. Is it plasticised?