mjr24

My plastic moldings (not the rubber seals....but the actual molding) look like crap. It's unacceptable and I remember I had this issue on my last SL. Took it to dealer and they said it's a common problem and that the moldings are plated or something....they are actually chrome moldings electro-plated or something. So I can either replace them.....service rep said they likely won't last 2 years (seriously....OEM part that they admit won't last) or he said I could paint them. The moldings just get cloudy....he says it's from the sun....nothing removes this (tried all the trim polishes....back to black etc). Thoughts?

Apifane

I can only concur with you. When I was shopping for my SL55, I had narrowed it down to two mint vehicles. I was told by the dealer that it was obvious to him that one vehicle was always garaged and the one with the cloudy molding was left outside. Needless to say I opted for the garaged vehicle.

PDC

The moldings on my E55 faded to a dull gray and looked like crap. So I taped everything off with the really good blue 3M masking tape and plastic drop cloths, gently 'roughed' the moldings up with 800-1000 grit wetsand, and primed and painted them gloss black. I also added a topcoat of clear. All out of shaker cans. It actually turned out really, really nice.