there was no plastic coating on his,,,,, someone got over zelus with a buffer and burned the paint,,,,, went to Auto Zone,,, got some good gloss black and took my time.

PITA taping off though !!!!

I had to do it on my bonnie... it was all down to alluminum on the pass rear door... stood out BADLY... taped it off and painted, cleared, waxed then took off all the plasticwrap and tape and found overspray on the front fender and mirror, and a wee bit at the middle of the door... further than i figured the paint would go... so if your NOT doing it in a garage away from the wind... make sure you protect the majority of the car! haha... fortunately some rubbing alcohol and quick timing was in my favor... the overspray came off the red... it was slightly noticeable otherwise... i was almost

guys that is the exact part i was talking about. I have no clue how the previous owner managed to damage it but he did. I have a friend that works at a dealership so getting it at a cheap price is no problem but if you think i should just strip it and repaint it im not afraid. just dont know what paint would match best

Like I said before, it seems that previous generation Bonneville'* were painted. Yours has a plastic type of film/coating on it and is not painted. This makes matching a whole different story. Because it'* in such a visible place you're going to see it every time you get in/out of your car. If it'* not the same, you probably won't be happy. If you can get it cheap, that'* the easiest way to get it back to factory and have long lasting results. Ultimately it'* up to you... it'* your car.