Rocker Panel Color

[mbzman]

What color were the 1969 280sls rockers painted?

[dtuttle123]

My understanding is that they were all (all years) painted black.  Other members with more expertise than me will clarify the exact color of black, and the textured surface, but they were NOT the body color.  It's one of the most common mistakes when re-painting the car.

[Ulf]

I'm with Doug on that, repainted mine in satin black after the PO had them painted with chrome paint - way too much bling :-)

[thelews]

Sorry, grey on mine and ORIGINAL.

[49er]

A very DARK grey. Notice the original brush touch up work done in this photo.

john

[thelews]

Not so dark, compared to black...

[dseretakis]

Mine are not textured and painted body color. I guess that's another thing for me to correct.

[49er]

Not so dark, compared to black...

 I guess we can settle on medium grey:-) You have a beautiful car BTW. Is the paint original?
John.

[thelews]

No, mostly repainted in 1975 with original 568 Herberts by the previous owner of 37 years and other mishaps tended to over the years.  The interior and all chrome are the most original parts of the car, only the sill carpet has been replaced and the wood refinished because the previous owner didn't like the way it looked from the factory.  Other areas of the car are rebuilt and refinished, but correct, so they are a mix of original and refinished.  The car has 150K+ miles on it.  Thanks for the compliment.

[Iconic]

OK, I'm a little confused.
The Tech Manual states the rockers are flat black, see the link:
http://www.sl113.org/wiki/pmwiki.php?n=DataCard.PaintCodes
John's (thelews) very nice original rockers from an early 67 250 SL are dark grey.
John's (49er) are dark grey on his original owner 69 280 SL with original rocker paint (if I understood correctly).

So, are we saying all rockers should be dark grey?
Can others comment on this?
Does anyone have the paint code number?

My wife wants to know why I find this interesting and important. That one is not a question. You don't have to explain why. 
Mark

[bogeyman]

I ordered an original set from MB back in the '90s and they came in dark grey like John's car has. That being said, my '69 that is original except for a repaint (obvious) has rockers that I would call black and there is no sign of repaint on them, even to the point of having the original brush touch up visible like 49ers - so ??

[thelews]

OK, I'm a little confused.
The Tech Manual states the rockers are flat black, see the link:

The tech manual is mostly anecdotal.  This is not to say the information is incorrect or unhelpful, just that it may not be accurate per factory standards at time of build.  Original cars and factory literature are your best sources of accurate information about originality.  It makes sense that over the years, a cleaning, quick masking and painting with a rattle can of the rockers in black would be a very easy cosmetic improvement and done on a lot of 113 examples, especially nicer looking ones.

[49er]

John's (49er) are dark grey on his original owner 69 280 SL with original rocker paint (if I understood correctly).

You understand correctly. That is the color that came from the factory. No spray can has been near them:-) I have also been looking through my old photographs of my '67 250 SL but no luck so far in finding one that has a good picture of the Rocker panels. If my memory (going back 44 years) serves me right, pretty sure they were the same shade of grey.
John

[mbzse]

What color were the 1969 280sls rockers painted?

They were not really "painted", the metal was covered with a type of dark "Bodyschutz" material.
See attached factory colour photo here. For a closeup where you see texture, look at 49er:s picture below
(reply No4)
/Hans in Sweden

[Iconic]

The tech manual is mostly anecdotal.

Thanks John (and John 49er), I am asking about the color for two reasons.
1. For my own car. This is on the list of things to do since my rockers are body color. It's pretty far down on the list though.    So, I want to do it correct when I do do it.
2. Whatever we learn here, I'll make or suggest a change to the tech manual. At the very least we need to mention this dark grey. If we can get to the bottom of this we can make the tech manual more correct. Of course, we need to be very careful with issues of originality.

So, anyone have any more info on the subject. Like factory original rockers in flat or matte or ? black?

[Peter van Es]

The tech manual is mostly anecdotal.  

John,

if you believe the Tech Manual is incorrect, please correct it. It is a collaborative, group effort, with no single one author. Every Full Member has editing rights.

See the disclaimer on this page: http://www.sl113.org/wiki/Main/HomePage

And instructions to contribute here: http://www.sl113.org/wiki/Main/EditNotes

We'd all appreciate you contributing!

Peter

[mdsalemi]

Original cars and factory literature are your best sources of accurate information about originality.

Not precisely, I'm afraid.  I've seen conflicting and or incorrect information in factory literature, and factory authorized literature.  At the moment, I've been working on a W113 Buyer's Guide (summary article, not a book) that will be published in The Star later this year.  One of the sidebars is by the late Frank Mallory, highly respected collector/author, regarding running changes to the W113 from inception to end of production.  Here is what Frank said:

This list was compiled from manuals, parts books and observation of original cars.  The generally excellent factory literature is not very reliable in this case; for example, Edition A of the 250 SL parts book shows one-piece wheel covers that were not adopted until a year after publication.

Further, the list had a few errors on it picked up by Peter Lesler, also highly respected and recognized.  Two other members of our group here have been Shanghaied volunteered to read the draft and I'm certain, quite certain, that they will pick up some additional errors--errors that might have been in factory literature but have proven to be wrong like the one case that Frank pointed out.

Bottom line is, nobody and nothing is perfect.  We strive for perfection however, and one of the purposes of the collaborative Tech Manual, (and indeed, the forums) is to share our findings.

[thelews]

I'm well aware that the factory publications contain errors from my experiences with the 190 SL.  Still, I will maintain that a combination of true original cars and factory publications will get you as close to factory original as possible.  And, we all know there were exceptions depending upon how much beer Hans had at lunch or what might have been within easy reach on the shelf.

My only other point was that this website's tech manual, as a collaborative effort, is helpful in many ways, but should not be considered the final word and that someone who really wants to be sure of originality may have to consult several sources for verification.  In other words, just because it says it in the website tech manual, doesn't make it so.

[Peter van Es]

In other words, just because it says it in the website tech manual, doesn't make it so.

Which we realise, and which is why we have the disclaimer. But if you -- or someone else --  do(es) know the correct "answer", solution, or fact, we've made it as easy as possible for it to be corrected. If anyone believes the TM is wrong, don't just say so on the forum, take the little bit of effort to fix the TM.

Peter

[thelews]

Too hard and complicated to edit wiki for us non-techies, sort of like pic posting.  

Also, just because I THINK I know, doesn't mean I do.  Disclaimer or not, most WIKI sites have editors that edit any posting for accuracy.  Hell, if I was so inclined, and I'm not, I could go in and sabotage all the information in the tech manual and cause a lot of grief for website members.

[rmmchl]

they look better black-that is the bottom line. Most are black, so as far as I am concerned, black has become the standard

[badali]

Mine are kind of grey-black and textured.  I don't know if they were ever repainted but they look like John's.  Except for his red and my white we have the same interior combo.  Maybe caviar interior has the same color rockers.

[Iconic]

Thank you Badali. We can explore interior colors with respect to rocker colors.

49er, What color interior do you have (original once again, correct?)?

[thelews]

Thank you Badali. We can explore interior colors with respect to rocker colors.

49er, What color interior do you have (original once again, correct?)?

I may be going out on a limb  , but I highly doubt interior color has ANYTHING to do with rocker color. 

[49er]

Cognac MB Tex, but I have to agree with John (thelews) on this. Should have no effect on the rocker panels color.

John

[Iconic]

I may be going out on a limb  , but I highly doubt interior color has ANYTHING to do with rocker color. 

I'm willing to explore all scenarios and frankly, stranger things have happened. Although, I too, would tend to doubt it.
So, at this point, no one with matte black original rocker has spoken up.
So far, 3 original cars have stated they have dark grey rockers. They were an early 250 SL, a '66 230 SL, and a '69 280 SL.

Maybe someone from the Classic Center has some input?

[wwheeler]

I think I have the answer to the rocker shutz mystery.

I used Wurth SKS stone guard black #0890 0301 with the recommended Wurth gun #0891 110 (not cheap) and achived the exact same color and finish as what is on John's rocker. I used this on my '70 Roadrunner to undercoat the inside of the wheel tubs, so I have experience with this product. The color wasn't as black as I was hoping for on this car, but close enough. I think I have a picture I can post of that wheel tub that I will try to find.

The stone guard dried to a dark grey (not quite black) and had a satin gloss (not dull) to it. The gun is quite sophisticated and you can vary the finish from somewhat smooth to rough.

The product is very tough and is water based so it cleans up easily when wet. When it dries, it is a different story. It does not need to be top coated although it can be.   

[hkollan]

Hi,

So, at this point, no one with matte black original rocker has spoken up.

During my current restoration of a pretty much original California car some minor repairs to the original rocker panels was needed.
I noticed that the textured coating  applied to these panels is whitish and not black when you get under the dark grey surface, and seems to be very similar or identical to the white PVC undercoating used elsewhere.
Meaning that they where painted dark grey or black before assembly.

BTW very interesting picture of John's original rocker panels with the black brush marks.
Seems I have some black paint brushing to do on mine, before mounting the rocker panels.

Here's a theory of mine, the black paint applied on the car under the rocker panels, to prevent sections of the car
to appear in car color from a side view is identical to the brushed on paint used on the inner fender sections in the front.(also applied with a paint brush). I find it strange that they would use a different paint and color when painting the rocker panels. Could the fact that these panels appear to be grey and not black be due to 40 years of exposure to the elements, and that the underlying coat is white?

Hans

Hans

[mdsalemi]

I believe John's car was repainted by a previous owner; previous to Vince Canepa (maybe you all remember that name?) who was previous to John.  The repaint was done years ago.  I offer the possibility that spraying that thick goo known as "body schutz" or undercoating of any type is quite different than spraying paint.  Therefore it is entirely possilble in a repaint that the rockers were repainted by a painter who did not want to load up a gun with this impossible to clean glop for 2 relatively small rockers that don't need multiple coats,  Might explain the brush marks.

Is that a possiblity?  I don't know this for a fact but I can't imagine the car was repainted w/o the rockers being repainted, and this seems a plausable scenario.  I know the painters I've seen would prefer not to have this goop anywhere near their paint booth.

[thelews]

Vince bought the car in 1971 at 4 years old.  HE repainted the car in 1975 with Herberts 568 paint just as the factory did so that it was just as original.  The car had not been painted prior to Vince's ownership.  Vince was a stickler for originality, even back then and documented everything as he did his work so as to put the car back exactly as he found it, inspection marks and all.  He did NOT paint the rockers, they were either masked off or removed when the body was repainted.  I specifically asked him this question shortly after buying the car and am still in contact with him from time to time.

With the purchase of the car, I also bought the last of the carpet he had that is as close as possible to original.  I have enough redo the entire interior should I ever need to.  I also picked up other original pieces he had.

Just for the record, my good friend just purchased a very original 230 SL (66?) with about 30K miles on it.  It has grey rockers.

[bogeyman]

Not that this is related, but it might be - I have an '87 560SL with 8,000 original miles that I bought when it was 2 years old with 2,000 miles and it has........grey rockers.   They are fixed on a 107, so they had to be done at the factory that way.

[49er]

 I drove my 280 SL off the show room floor and the rocker panels were the same color then as they were today. The brush work was done at the factory to the body (behind the door) not to the panels them selves. They are painted as wear show a lighter grey. The pattern of the coating is different then the undercoat applied to the bottom of the car. More "pebbley" and uniform. Also the visible (from the side) bottom of the car was painted black over the undercoating. I would imagine the rockers were applied to the cars pre painted towards the end of assembly and pretty sure they would have all been identical in color, a dark low gloss grey.

John

[mdsalemi]

So--have we established that all rocker panels on all Pagodas to be original are:

1)  NOT BLACK but a [medium to dark] grey?
2)  Hand Painted with a brush, not sprayed?

...and just for the record, originality begins to end the moment a vehicle is driven.  Fabricating inspection marks to mimic what was done in the factory (but you are doing it in the garage) is hardly to be deemed more original than no inspection marks at all.

I think it is great that we all go through such lengths to get to the bottom of what might have been original.  What is cool is when we discover some varying items, like the fabric on tool kit rolls.  It is noble even, in its own way, to try and duplicate original when time and the elements conspire against you, and some kind of action is required to prevent wasting away.  But at that point you have duplicated originality, not recreated it.  Originality can not be recreated.

I am reminded of the fabricated and ersatz "original" tar-top battery that one cleverly restored car I saw was equipped with.  It looked original but it surely was not.  It fooled the judges, but that didn't make it original.  If there was a question, the judges just had to look at the ersatz patina (the car had a slightly worn interior, restored 20 years prior) and deem the battery to be original!  The owner snickered a bit at how his clever work made a restored car look original.  If it was not done at the factory, it isn't original.  That's not a condemnation either--if we didn't work on our cars and change them there would a whole lot less of them out there and a whole lot more iron oxide buried in landfills...

[hkollan]

2)  Hand Painted with a brush, not sprayed?

Michael, how did you conclude that the rocker panels where brush-painted. As I see it the brushmarks on John's(original owner) car where applied before the assembly of the separately painted rocker panels.  And maybe there is someone who could confirm my assumption that the textured coating on the rocker panels is white/light grey? From the pictures of shown of the area it seems that a withe/grey color shows through where the top paint coat has been worn/scratched off.

[49er]

 Spray paint over a lighter grey/tan material. I can only vouch for my car but I can assure you it is original in every way (other then some hose clamps:-) It has never been restored or repainted. Just the way Mercedes Benz built it. Here are another couple of pictures taken in the door sill area. The grey has worn off over the years from my pant leg getting in and out of the car. If I knew I was going to keep this car for as long as I have, I would have been more careful

John

[thelews]

...and just for the record, originality begins to end the moment a vehicle is driven.  Fabricating inspection marks to mimic what was done in the factory (but you are doing it in the garage) is hardly to be deemed more original than no inspection marks at all.

Maybe I wasn't clear about Vince's intentions and my car.  The rocker panels are ORIGINAL, never touched or repainted.  The other areas of the car that were refinished were DOCUMENTED for originality so that after refinishing it is CORRECT, as in how the factory ORIGINALLY did it.  It is a given that cars are only original once, 49er is more original than mine, and I most always, unless unintentionally, distinguish ORIGINAL from CORRECT on my car for reference purposes.  It's both and there's even some INCORRECT stuff like modern hoses and Norma hose clamps so I can drive the car at sustained speeds of over 90 mph. without leaks or blowing a hose.  Those would come under the heading of DRIVEABILITY IMPROVEMENTS that are REVERSIBLE to CORRECT as was ORIGINALLY done from the FACTORY.

[Iconic]

OK, I think we are getting somewhere and I believe we are learning something new (at least I am learning something new).
Thank you all for your time on this !!
Except for a post from bogeyman on January 30th, I believe no one has disputed the dark grey rocker color on original cars.
Bogeyman, you state your car was repainted. You say no sign of a repaint on the rockers. Your car was painted and they, or you, didn't paint the rockers?
This is possible as discusssed by John (thelews), but is it true for you, bogeyman?
This might sound silly, but have you looked with a direct light at the rockers? (I hope I'm not insulting you, but I'm still just trying to get to the bottom of this.)

Also, I want to clarify one item. John (thelews) rockers were not hand painted, correct? Only some touch-up on John (49er) towards the top of the rocker (touch-up from the factory that is) was hand painted. This touch-up was possibly intended for the screw heads. Shiny screw heads could visually jump out at you against that dark background.

[bogeyman]

I guess I should note that I see a difference between John "Lews" and John "49er" colors.  Mine are very close to 49er's, not true black but a very dark grey. 

As far as the brush marks, I think that as the car went down the line the area immediately around the rockers was brushed with black paint before the rockers were installed.  The factory apparently decided they didn't like the body color next to the rocker covers. The covers themselves were not brushed. They did a similar procedure in front of the battery, apparently because they didn't like the body color showing through the grill.

[thelews]

Bogey appears to have hit a hole in one.

[bogeyman]

Too bad we don't have an original very early car.  I bet you can find a lot of "yeah, buts" that happened along the way...

[ljg]

I have a 14,000 280 SL built in June-1970.  I just had ithe exterior painted.  We resprayed the rocker trim in the original dark, dark satin grey.  They were obviously in great shape-we therefore left the factory texture in place.

[hkollan]

Here's my attempt to summarize the process.

1. The car is painted
2. Only some over-spray reaches the outer sections of the floor-pans partially covering the beige PVC coating applied prior to paint.
3. The lower section of the car is spray painted black/dark grey to prevent visible car color from a side view. (See picture)
4. The rocker panels are treated with a beige textured coating, possibly the same as the rest of the undercoating
5  The rocker panels are spray painted dark grey
6  The rocker panels are mounted on the car
7  Some black/dark grey brush paint is applied to sections of the rocker panels, possibly to darken the yellow screws, see Johns(original owner) picture.

[mdsalemi]

Michael, how did you conclude that the rocker panels where brush-painted.

Hans--I concluded brush painted because there seemed to be a variety of posts here about brush marks on the rockers.  If you have brush marks, it's brush painted.

I have not been able to conclude anything from the photos.  The best of them are, frankly, dreadful.  Don't take offense to that however--I can tell you that photographing black or dark grey, with the satin or semi-matte, is a task for a pro.  You need carefully placed soft lighting and probably carefully used polarizing filter to eliminate highlights.  You need the color balanced for neutral, which requires insertion of a black/white/grey card in the photo or in the identical lighting conditions, and balancing after the fact.  Then, unfortunately, the reduced nature of the posted photos eliminates a lot of detail. (John is laughing about that one!)

I think your assessment here is instructive.  However, didn't we just go through a whole thing about the undercoating being a beige and not a dark grey?

[114015]

(Love this thread ! )

Too bad we don't have an original very early car.

I had one, an early 63' 230 SL.
When I took that one apart before wrecking, I found that the area under the rocker panel was dark grey, not black, not factory body colored (181G hellbeige). Car was resprayed a couple of times throughout its past life so I cannot say for sure how the rockers were below the rocker panels ... at least somehow "dark" as well.
At least the area covered by the (totally rotten) rocker panels was dark grey - and textured.

Same held true for the spare wheel well. That one had no (correct) body color, no hellbeige anywhere. There were only traces of dark grey "something" over the dark beige body schutz that I found underneath layers of that  black tar stuff ...
Long ago.

Nevertheless, would love to know how the spare wheel well on the first 7204 pagodas built looked like when they came off the line at the factory. Is there one survivor car (with respect to those colors) here built before November 1964?

Achim
(1964 230, 1971 230)

[hkollan]

Michael,

I agree that the undercoating is more of beige and not a light grey color. I'll change my previous post accordingly.
 
Regarding the rocker panels, I am pretty sure they where first spray painted dark grey(after the textured stuff was put on, and that the brush marks seen in the picture was applied after they where put on the car. To me that makes them spray painted.
The suggestion from Iconic that it was to avoid that the yellow shiny screws would be visible against the dark background makes sense to me.  

[mdsalemi]

I am so curious as to what my car has.  I tend to think the rockers were all new from MB, not refinished, when the car was restored.  Something tells me my restorer did nothing to them but install them--but just guessing.  Oh well, I'll wait to spring!

[dtuttle123]

HA!!  Michael, wouldn't you be shocked to find that they were BLACK!   

[wwheeler]

Wouldn't that dark grey color sprayed on the texture be the same as the trunk paint? It looks like the same color. It would make sense that they would use the same as it goes down the line. Maybe they even sprayed the panel at the same time as the trunk.

[mdsalemi]

HA!!  Michael, wouldn't you be shocked to find that they were BLACK!   

Doug--it would not surprise me in the least if they are black...it has been about 10 years since the restoration and I just have some really vague recollection that the rockers were simply bought new from K&K and screwed on.  So, what they have on them now is probably what they came with--albeit as replacements 30+ years after the fact.  I am almost certain there were no brush strokes added by the restorer; I've been up close enough I would have noticed.

From a colorist point of view however, black is grey, just a different light value on the grey scale.  It is "no color"; neutral.  They have the same hue, saturation and chroma, just a different value!

[J. Huber]

Nevertheless, would love to know how the spare wheel well on the first 7204 pagodas built looked like when they came off the line at the factory. Is there one survivor car (with respect to those colors) here built before November 1964?

Achim
(1964 230, 1971 230)

Sorry can't help with this one... I know for a fact my spare tire well and rockers are black (now) because I've sprayed them with good old rustoleum more than once over the years...Satin black I think. No award for originality on the lower half of my 63...

[Iconic]

I've added the following comments to the Technical Manual based on this discussion.
It can be found on this page:
http://www.sl113.org/wiki/DataCard/PaintCodes

If you have disagreement, please speak up. It is easy to change it back or to something different.

(According to another discussion starting in January of 2011 titled "Rocker Panel Color", the idea has been presented that the rockers were, in fact, a dark grey, and not black. Also, they seem to be more of a semi-gloss than a flat finish. Original cars, with an original owner in one case, give good evidence that the rockers are dark grey. Additionally, there is evidence that there was paint brushed on the light colored screw heads to camouflage them.)

[Peter van Es]

Excellent. I've added a link back to this discussion on the TM.

[DaveB]

Here's an early 230sl ad with light coloured rocker panels. Looks strange compared to the normal dark version.

[thelews]

Because Gernold, Iconic (Mark) and I were all at StarTech at Black Forest and have an interest in the correct rocker panel color, we were able to do an exhaustive investigation of examples at the event and Gernold did some further investigation and research upon his return home.

THE CONCLUSION OF THIS LANDMARK INVESTIGATION....drum roll please!

Both.  Yes, they were both grey and black.  Here is Gernold's statement in an email to me...

I can confirm that cars up to 1967 had grey Covers however the grey is not consistent in color, the covers on your SL may have been excessively cleaned with Paint Care Products that produced the somewhat glossy finish, I have yet to find a 280 SL that had grey covers and would conclude that the color changed sometime during 1967/68 into black, I have conclusive evidence of black covers on 1970/71 models of which one had less than 5000 Miles when I first looked at it, I hope this insight helps to alleviate some of the confusion regarding the Rocker Cover issue and all that is left now is the point in time when this change occurred,

Further, I found this post from the previous owner of my car in 2005 that I hope puts to rest controversy about my covers...

Vince Canepa
Silver
  Location: USA
Posts: 341
 Re: Color of Rocker Panels / Sills  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The rocker covers on my car are original and have never bee touched up.  They are exactly the same color as aussie230sl's.  I would descibe it as more of a gray than a blue.  The screws are exposed.

Details on that car and mine are very similar.  That is reassuring because I've tried to keep mine is as close to original as I could keep it and actually drive it for the 32 years I've owned it.

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

So, my car is #1543 in 1967.  GREY.  Start looking at your numbers and panels and let's find out when the change occurred.

[49er]

OK, here are are a few more pictures I took this morning of my 280SL's rockers (built in June 1968). They are definitely more black then grey but have a "bluish" cast. Hard to capture in photos but more apparent in person. You can see the contrast between the rocker and the black tire and the black weatherstripping under the door. As I have said before this might be due to the grey/tan undercoat applied to the rocker before painting and just "bleeding" through after all these years.

john
  
 

[dtuttle123]

Everyone wins!!!  What a great outcome!  Thanks John for doing the additional research!

[Iconic]

Thank you John (thelews).
That is very interesting ! I'm glad you pursued the rocker color issue with Gernold.
I'll let a little time go by for additional posts, then I will make an adjustment in the Tech Manual.

John (49er), maybe you can take something you know is black and hold it up to the rocker and look at it and see if the rocker looks black, or blue, or grey.
Based on Gernold states, your car can certainly have black rockers.

Hopefully some more people with original rockers will join in and help us with the cutoff. ... Probably not too many of you out there. Certainly not me.

On the subject of a flat finish being "polished" over time to a semigloss or gloss, I have a Camaro with a flat black section in the rear. It was painted in 1977 or 1978.
The back is still completely flat. With no sign of glossing up. .... maybe I better go look at it to confirm ...  It has never been through a commercial car wash, at least since 1977. If a car were to go through a car wash, that rocker area can sure be subject to "rubbing" (I'm sure Michael will now chime in since I mentioned car washes). 

My family would disown me if they new how interested I was in rocker panel colors from 40 years ago.

[jameshoward]

I'm interested in this post because tomorrow my car will go to the bodyshop. Amongst other things, it will have the sill cover/rocker panel colour changed, as they are currently the same colour as the rest of the car. My car is a very late 230. I was going to have the panels painted black (169) but since reading this I think I'm going for 164 sprayed over the chip protection stuff.

Any dissenters, speak now please.

[49er]

John (49er), maybe you can take something you know is black and hold it up to the rocker and look at it and see if the rocker looks black, or blue, or grey.
Based on Gernold states, your car can certainly have black rockers.

Hi Mark,
 If you look at the 1st picture of my most recent post.,you can see the difference in shades of "Black and Grey" from the rockers and the underside of the car it self. Since mine had an early June '68 build, It might have had some of the grey rockers put on before the switch was made to black. As for my car, they are what they are and no black paint will ever get near them