Anyone have a pic of a monochrome 300E?

[gmercoleza]

The lower plastic panels on my 300E are somewhat dull. They appear to have faded faster than the rest of the car - the rest of the car still has a very glossy shine. So I've been thinking about wet sanding with 400 and reshooting in single stage catalyzed enamel with flex additive. This will bring the panels up to par with the rest of the car.

Anyway, instead of shooting in the factory color, I got to thinking. What if I painted all of it to match the body color? Would that even look good? Or would it look too plain in a monochrome scheme?

My car is anthracite gray, and the lower panels are a darker gray. It also has the black impact strips front and rear, which I would paint body color as well. The side cladding has a nice shiny chrome strip in it. The chrome is in very good shape, so I'm thinking rather than mask it I should remove the chrome and then replace it after painting. I'm thinking the chrome helps break the look up a bit so that everything doesn't look too bland.

I'm looking for opinions. Anyone else out there done this to their car? Are you happy/sorry? Do you have a picture? I just can't visualize, and I don't have access to Photoshop. I like the thought of a more modern monochrome look, but I'm worried the car will end up looking like a plain old C class (no offense 202 owners). I like the looks of the 300E because it has character - I don't want to mess that up.

Any thoughts?

[Pete Geither]

Have done the mono paint scheme to both the TE and the SL. In my opinion that is what they were supposed to look like from the factory. I have posted pics of both on the site, the last one of the TE is under wheels and tires. Will try to link them for you.

[Pete Geither]

Try this
Got my new AMG's today!!

[aNtHrAx323]

I'd say, in my personal tastes, pull off all that bloated plastic trim and find the much more minimalistic trim from the earlier 124s (door bumpers basically). The large plastic molding on later versions is what has stopped me from getting rid of my '88 300E.

[gmercoleza]

Originally Posted by PJG56

Try this
Got my new AMG's today!!

Wow, that looks really really good in monochrome! Did you do that yourself? What type of paint was used, and how's it holding up? And what did you do about the little chrome strips in the plastic cladding? It looks like you might be able to remove them from behind once the panel is removed - I don't think I'd want to mask it. Do you get stone chips in your front impact strip revealing the black plastic underneat?

Like I said, I want to wet sand with 400 to scuff, then shoot in single stage catalyzed enamel with flex additive. Thoughts anyone?

[Pete Geither]

We did the work at our shop and it's not really that big a deal. Yes the chrome strips come right off from behind by twisting the plastic clips. Just scuff the panels with a grey scotchbrite and put your color on and clear over it. You can either dull the clear or keep it shiny. I dulled it a bit on the wagon, but kept it shiny on the SL. Durability should not be a problem if prepped right and use good materials. I have done 3 of my own cars and after years of use they all look great.