Hey Guys,

I'm not sure if this applies as much to those of you with Black cars. My 17 SL is the Designo Electric Blue. And when washed the car looks amazing. I admit I am an 80's child - So things like Hood scoops, side vents, really catch my eye.

The Black Plastic parts on the hood vents, the fake fender side vents and the massive fake front bumper intakes are all dark grey rather than a true flat black or semi-gloss black.

Does this bother anyone else? Has anyone taken the time to remove these and paint, or have them painted?

And the massive inlets under each headlight which are blocked, don't even let air pass really bother me. First they also aren't a rich black. It appears these same inlets are open on the SL models to let air pass to the wheel well without any additional ducting.

I would like to pull out the back panel behind the black plastic honeycomb and install a polished stainless mesh.

And with the side fender vents - the actual 'vent' is large scalloped honeycomb - which is also just a design and not function. It appears to be a very thin piece of plastic and I have not come up with a good idea of how to make it appear more 'real'. I'm thinking for the side vents the best choice might be to do a 3d scan and get them reprinted via ABS on a 3D printer.

Anyone else bothered by these 'trim' parts? Anyone done anything to their trim parts to either make them a deeper black, or make them look a little more functional?

Or am I just too much an 80's kid -- LOL


Dave B

Just use ArmorAll or another of the black plastic/rubber restoration products to bring back the original 'shiny black; finish!

Bob,

I'm in the Cali Sun everyday and Armor All or Back to Black only last about a week. Each one has so many little openings you can't wipe them you have to spray, and spraying on to the paint is not what I want to do.

I'm lazy so I'd rather find a more permanent solution. Take it apart once and then not worry about it ever again.

But thank you for the thought!

Dave B

I have the same car in Cardinal Red Metallic but it spends most of its time in the garage. If you make any changes to your concerned areas please post some pics.

Here on the Texas Gulf Coast we have a 4-6 week period in Spring when insect populations rise and a short ride in the country results in hundreds of dead insects piling up between the fake mesh and the backing. I figure its Mercedes way making us get out our old toothbrushes and tweezers to make our SL’s look clean again..... 😊

I use Stoner's Trim Shine. It really darkens the black plastic trim. Lasts a few weeks. I'm not into a lot of chrome trim but I do not like black wheels.

this.

be carefull during application and wear gloves.