What started as faded and cracked headlight doors on the old 123 were stripped of clear plastic covers and the louvred section behind was painted black along with grill insert. Am now waiting for final bits of chrome to fall off the crummy aftermarket "rechromed" bumper the PO had installed on the car - then will spray paint the bumper high gloss rustoleum black too.

Ultimately I'd like to black out other chrome bits on the car including MB model nameplate and trunk emblem. Am happy with results where black trim sets off the light China blue.

Toughest part of the job was separating clear plastic from louvred backs on headlight doors.... i used propane torch and stuff putty knife to soften up the clear plastic and chip away at it.

Attached Thumbnails

 

__________________
'80 300SD/ w116
'79 240D 4-spd
'71 750cc Guzzi

previously owned:

'83 240D 4-spd
'77 280SEL 4-spd
'74 280/8
'72 250/8
'65 220Sb 4-spd
'63 220Sb 4-spd
'63 190c 4-spd
'61 220Sb 4-spd
'60 190b 4-spd

Another pic showing greater detail.....

Attached Thumbnails

 

Reminds me a lot of my old '65 Chevelle...very interesting, although I think I prefer the gray for my car...

My grille was quite aged so I sprayed it semi-gloss black. Looked great for a while but the paint has many chips in it now. I would like a replacement molded in black but I don't think anyone makes one. The headlight doors look nice though. Maybe all black trim would be a bit much? The monochromatic look went out with Miami Vice in the 80's.... Chrome, used judiciously, like MB does looks very nice and appropriate on the styling of these cars. IMHO, RT

__________________
When all else fails, vote from the rooftops!
84' Mercedes Benz 300D Anthracite/black, 171K
03' Volkswagen Jetta TDI blue/black, 93K
93' Chevrolet C2500HD ExCab 6.5TD, Two-tone blue, 252K

I painted my grille black a few months back, looks much better that way!

At the same time I was also getting annoyed by my faded headlight doors (they were more of a yellow-green than gray!) and since I had some extra Wurth silver paint from repainting my wheels, I used that on them. Looks great!

I also had a problem with the chrome peeling off my rechromed front bumper, and ended up painting that with the Wurth silver too, with nice results.

__________________
'81 300TD Wagon 355k (Miss Diesel)
'83 300SD 180k
'84 500SEL 190k (Parting it out)

Would it look good with jut the grille painted gloss or flat black?

I did all three bits together....... was driving faceless benz for 3 days, applying repeated coats of paint - sanding surface (especially shiney bare plastic on door louvres) and in between coats so surfaces would have teeth for paint to grab. Am also thinkin that flat paint would attract more dirt than high gloss.

Yeah, you guys might be right about not going overboard blacking out the trim. As it is, i figure am saving myself cost of replacing headlight doors and bumper too...... saving my money for "new" Heckflosse 110 diesel, when I find one affordable that's got zero mechanical probs - or at least less than maybe $750 mechanical probs on top of cost of car. Better yet would be to swap my excellent running 240D for comparable condition 190D or 200D, say in rough primer body condition that would be easy for me to restore without running into vintage parts problems.

I know some photos don't do a car justice but your car kind of looks like it has missing headlight doors. I did a little photo editing for a suggestion, why not try painting the headlight doors body color.

Attached Thumbnails

 

__________________
DJ


84 300D Turbodiesel 190K with 4 speed manual sold in 03/2012

The black headlight doors looks like it's tryin to be an old bimmer. Which I must say are my least favorite looking bimmers... the black grille insert is sweet, I am planning on doing this to mine. I need a new grille insert anyway as my current one has cracked pieces.

__________________
1984 190D 2.2 Auto 220k
2001 Jeep Cherokee Sport 70K
2004 Lexus RX-330 ??K
2005 Chrylser Crossfire LTD 6K

Play guitar? Go to www.cyberfret.com for free online lessons!

... I just had to follow suit.
finished remounting the grille this morning after driving around for a couple of days without it (too chilly and damp to paint after work). I was a bit worried that it would look funny with the orange body color, but the blackout really makes the chrome bits pop. a friend had a set of yellow Bosch fog lamps which really give the front end a nice look.

made an interesting discovery while driving around sans grille - she ran about five degrees cooler. not an incredible difference but it was noticeable.

B&A pictures to follow soon (camera no worky)

__________________
'79 300D "Jaeger"
'61 VW Baja "Frosch"
'92 Honda Shadow 600
'80 Honda 185 (cafe project)

sorry about the picture (came off a friends camera phone)

Attached Thumbnails

 

__________________
'79 300D "Jaeger"
'61 VW Baja "Frosch"
'92 Honda Shadow 600
'80 Honda 185 (cafe project)

... before picture

Attached Thumbnails

 

__________________
'79 300D "Jaeger"
'61 VW Baja "Frosch"
'92 Honda Shadow 600
'80 Honda 185 (cafe project)