US and ECE turn signals on 80's MB (and most european cars) are not the same color... the ECE units are a much darker orange.
Image from Dave's site http://www.w124performance.com/images/W124_headlights/124_turn_signal_lenses.jpg
I much prefer the darker color, and don't like the look of the clear lenses. But for me installing euro turn signal lenses had two problems:
-They're expensive
-They don't have retro-reflectors in them... I park my car on the street a lot so having it be more visible is important
My solution was to change the color of the US fixture. Initially I tried installing amber bulbs which helped a bit but the lens still looked light yellow when the lights were off. Then I read this article on Daniel Stern Lighting:
Daniel Stern Lighting Consultancy and Supply
He suggested using
DupliColor Metalcast yellow paint to tint the lenses. The results looked very good!
Colourless/White/Clear lamps converted to Selective Yellow
MetalCast paint comes in a lot of colors, including Orange. For $9 on Amazon I had a can delivered to my door.
I stared by taking the rubber seals off of the lights and cleaning them:
I then gave each lens several light coats of paint. For my eye 5 coats was perfect. I kept adding coats until the color matched the rear turn signals. You need to be careful to get the paint into all the corners, the ribs on the lens can make things a bit tricky.
I'm very pleased with the result:
Is it perfect? No. My lenses were a bit cloudy to start with and I didn't take the time to polish them. It was also cold the day I panted the lenses so the paint didn't turn out as smooth as it could have; if you look closely you can see orange peel. But for under $10 I'm happy, and the retro-reflectors still work great (as that pic demonstrates). The turn signals look a tad dimmer when they are running, but it is not significant.
Thanks,
-Jason