W126 Antenna grommet

One of the things that had been bugging me about my 560SEC was the missing W126 antenna grommet.   Over time, they perish and instead of replacing it, the previous owner had used household sealant.   This is an odd bodge as the part is inexpensive and easy to fit.   The household sealant was making the SEC look like a real jalopy, and while that might be the name of this site, I don’t actually want the cars to look like jalopies.

It is quite easy to fit the new W126 antenna grommet.   The power antenna must be dropped down.   It can be accessed behind the boot lining and is held up with a single phillips head screw.

So as not to damage the paint, I used a plastic razor blade and my fingernail to remove the sealant residue.   This was actually the most time consuming part of the job.

Once the residue was cleaned up, the new grommet is fitted from above.  I used some rubber grease to make it easier to push it into place.   From there it is a simple matter to push the antenna back up into the grommet and screw it back into place.    For 20 minutes of work and a part that costs only a couple of dollars it is an amazing transformation on the car.

I had previously fitted a new grommet to my 300SE a couple of weeks ago.   Unlike the SEC it had the proper grommet, but the rubber had perished and it was cracked and likely to let water in.

While I was at it, I tried to apply the Bowdens paint cleanse and restore I purchased recently.    The paint on the SEC is quite faded compared to the SEL in the same colour.   As it looks like original paint, I wanted to try a non abrasive product first.   A power buffer is going to take off a thin layer of the clear, which can’t be undone.    I tried the product on the bonnet and boot lid, the two worst parts of the paint.   It made a slight difference, but realistically it looks like I am going to need to try the power buffer.