correct bottomcolor

[pablo_o2]

As I am involved in a bare metal restoration I was wondering what is the right undercarriage or bottom color our SL's were originally delivered. I read different things such as same as the body color or a kind of brownred coating up to a dirty greenish finish, the same as the SL190. Someone has the correct info?

Paul Haems
'68 280SL

[ChrisInNashville]

Paul,

I'm not an expert on this.   But, I checked several old brochures and books that I've accumulated.

First, the brochures I have only refer to a "plasticized undercoating".

Second, the pictures all appear to be black beneath the chrome trim, with a slight gloss.

Mine is a '69 and is currently flat black, but it has been repainted by the previous owner and I don't know what original was...

Good luck,
Chris

[Tom]

Chris is correct on the color-Black.  There should be little to no sheen-more of a flat black.  My car had too much sheen and Gernold repainted to be flat black.  Clarification-I am referring to the rocker panels.

Best,

Tom

1971 280sl Tunis Beige Metallic (restored & enhanced)
1971 280sl Tobacco Brown (low mileage stock)
1970 280sl Deep Red (Project Car)

[Douglas]

Paul,

Clarification needed: Are you asking about the rocker panels/sills or the floors?

Douglas Kim
New York, NY
280 SL #016220

[Benz Dr.]

It's not black. Only the trunk is black inside. It's this sort of brownish colour and a lot of the underside is hit with the colour of the car. This brown colour is actually the primer that was used back then.


Dan Caron's
 SL Barn
benzbarn@ebtech.net
 slbarn.mbz.org

[Cees Klumper]

Observations on rocker panel colors:
- on lighter-color cars, having the rocker panels body color makes the car look much heavier than when the rocker panels are painted, say, flat black over body schutz (protectant). It's my understanding that (almost all) lighter-bodied cars left the factory with the rocker panels painted (flat) black
- on dark-bodied cars, body color looks ok and may be the way cars left the factory
- for some reason or other, cars in the UK very often have the rocker panels body color, even on light-colored cars

As for the rest of the cars underside and the wheel wells, I was under the impression that they were always body color, even on light-colored cars. There's more information in older threads on this and probably also in the technical articles.

Cees ("Case") Klumper in Amsterdam
'69 white 280 SL automatic

[Benz Dr.]

Note:
by underside of the car I mean the floor pans not the wheel wells. They're body colour, but we all know that, right?

Dan Caron's
 SL Barn
benzbarn@ebtech.net
 slbarn.mbz.org

[pablo_o2]

So when I understand first the floor panels were coated and later they were oversprayed in the bodycolor? And yes Kim I mean the floorpanels not the rockerpanels. But what about the attached pic of the supposedly original floorpanels' color?

Download Attachment: floor 5.JPG
59.24 KB

Paul Haems
'68 280SL

[Vince Canepa]

The floor pans were first primed, probably when the chassis was dipped.  It is a gray-green color.  Then the plasticized undercoat was sprayed on.  It is a tan color.  The the body was painted body color.  The wheel wells got a pretty good overall coat, but the floor pans got more overspray than anything else.  If you view them from the outside they look body color.  If you view them from the center of the car, a lot of the primer or tan show through.  The driveshaft tunel, above the rear axle and any other areas that would be "shadowed" to a painter standing outside the car are almost entirely primer.

Vince Canepa
1967 250SL
113.043-10-001543
568H Signal Red
116 Caviar MB-Tex