Hello, I am wondering if someone could assist me with a question regarding the color of the lower body panel under the side cladding of the w126. Specifically, I am curious about the factory color and whether it is anthracite, and if it has a satin or glossy finish. I came across a photo of a similar 1st generation car that seems to have a darker color than the cladding. I would greatly appreciate any insights or information you may have on this matter. Thank you!

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Theseus

Instragram: doss_project
1984 300SD - 930 Blue, OM 617
Murfreesboro, TN

Theseus owned a ship in Greek mythology, and when a part of the ship needed replacing, it was replaced. Eventually, everything was replaced. Is it the same ship? (I own the car of Theseus. )

On my 300SD the color under the cladding is the same as the parts above. I had to reinstall a loose cladding a while back. That said, my 300sd is the same color as the cladding itself so I'm probably not much help.

I haven't noticed though, that all the cladding appears to be anthracite regardless of upper color. Like the blue in your example.

The paint should be glossy.

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RRGrassi


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Thank you for the reply. It is definitely a darker color. Looking at photos from other years, this seems to be intentional to have a darker color. 2nd gen made color more uniform because of the trim.

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Theseus

Instragram: doss_project
1984 300SD - 930 Blue, OM 617
Murfreesboro, TN

Theseus owned a ship in Greek mythology, and when a part of the ship needed replacing, it was replaced. Eventually, everything was replaced. Is it the same ship? (I own the car of Theseus. )

Not sure if you are talking about the bodywork color or the cladding color.

The body color under the cladding is the same as the rest of the car. If it seems darker with the cladding removed, and original, the darker tones are due to no sun fading on the paint under the cladding.

If you are talking about the cladding color, then anthracite is correct from what I recall. It should also be the actual casting color of the cladding itself rather than surface applied. The exposed surfaces will color fade with environmental exposure and age, so very possible that the surfaces appear lighter than original. You can paint them back to their original color, and IIRC the trim had a semi-gloss finish.

The cladding on the 86-87 versions changed and was also slightly darker version of anthracite (leave it to MB to reuse the name but change the color i.e. Orion). The later cars changed the material composition of the cladding to more of an ABS type black plastic and started surface painting body color.

If memory serves

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