Guess I'll start with a roundabout question about your question. A chainstay protector is an add-on part (most commonly from the 80s)
somebody could have applied one of these over the paint and peeled it later.
some bikes have chromed "socks" at the fork tips and rear triangles
My daughter's '86 Team Fuji has just the chain side chainstay chromed
It's also typical for quality frame-makers, especially Italians, to fully chrome a frame and then paint over it. Another example, my Raleigh International has a fully chromed fork that has been painted above its socks. So finally getting to my question - do you think what you're calling painted over chainstay protector is actually abrasion of the original paint on a fully chromed frame?
If your bike has a painted-over chainstay protector on it, then everything about the bike is in question - decals can be found for just about anything. . We'll proceed assuming it's the former with original paint and not the latter.
The decal you described simply translates Columbus Special Tubing - it doesn't identify a grade. It's actually very typical of a frame maker to use this decal, because he can use it on any grade Columbus tubing coming from his shop.
There is probably no way to identify your tubing grade without gauging the wall thickness with an Ultrasonic D-meter, or stripping down the frame and weighing it.
You can find examples of this bike online with both SL and SLX tubing (and Columbus Brain in the 90s, which is equivalent of SL).
The model goes back to the late 70s.
All the components including the pretty Strada crank appear to match an 1983 bike. Looks like a great ride.