Vehicles were turned out in Brunswick Green with three cream bands, one at the bottom edge of the body, the second cutting a line through the window pillars at the base of the sliding ventilator windows, sweeping down at the cab front corners to form a waist height line below the cab windows. The third band was placed above window level. Speed whiskers were not originally carried but appeared in time. Later some cars appeared with a different style of lining, with two bands of cream, one broader band at waist height and the other narrower band just above window level, and whiskers were always carried in this variation until the yellow panels appeared.

When new the BR lion on wheel symbol was carried amidships on power cars only, this later giving way to the neater BR roundel, again on power cars only. As with other units, the early '60s saw the introduction of the small yellow warning panel below the cab windows in place of the whiskers, a practical step towards greater safety.

A few vehicles made it into blue livery. There is a picture in the OPC album Diesels in East Anglia (Figure 117) which shows a DMBS in blue at East Winch on the Dereham to Kings Lynn line.  This is clearly a lightweight as it has the valance below the buffer beam and the cab-front jumpers.  Figure 99 in the same book shows two Met Cam lightweights being towed for scrap, one of which appears to be in blue. In 'Branch Lines of East London' published by Middleton Press (Feb '00) there are two pictures of a DMU railtour which took place on 21 October 1967. The pictures are by J E Connor and are plates 22 and 98. The train comprised three Met Cam lightweights. One 2-car unit and half of another unit are blue. The end vehicle (a DMBS) has a half yellow panel which covers the whole of the lower cab end beneath the windows for virtually the full width of the vehicle. There are small double arrow emblems on the cab doors and it looks as though there are yellow diamonds on the edges of the cab ends just beside the warning panels. The January 1969 Railway Magazine page 47 also has a picture of Met Cam lightweights in blue with full yellow ends.  A six-car formation (though the rear unit could be a Derby - the picture is not clear) is shown, all in blue.  The rake is pictured passing Ponders End on 20 April 1968 running ECS from Cheshunt to Northumberland Park for a return football excursion to Barking. Thanks to Robert Carroll for this last paragraph.