[W126 Coupe] Paintwork Correction

[Axel Wulff]

Hey Vance,
 
Just to add to Mike's comment.
 
Short of adding paint, the only other way to make the paint look better is to remove the top layer through wet sanding or buffing.
 
Solid colors without the clear coat lend themselves better to the removal method. Mercedes solid paints are particularly suitable as our generation of cars came with 7-layer paint from the factory.
 
Clear coat paints, especially metallic colors, are more problematic. I believe the clear coat is only a couple of layers thick and if you penetrate the clear, the surface finish will be ruined in short order as water penetrates and the clear starts peeling off.
 
An additional consideration is the condition of the paint. The buffing/wet sanding works well for removing light surface scratches and oxidization. It won't do much to deeper scratches or peeling clear coats.

Regards,
Axel J. Wulff
610-731-5453 Cellular
610-572-4611 Home



 


Date: Thu, 25 Nov 2010 08:15:31 -0700
From: mike.ramay at gmail.com
To: vance.rowley at thestart.eu; mbcoupes at mbcoupes.com
Subject: Re: [W126 Coupe] Paintwork Correction

I've had one SEC repainted by a professional and the results were fabulous. To that end I helped him take off EVERYTHING that could be removed so that the paint job would be better, then when he was done we only put on enough to drive the car (e.g., bumpers, headlights, tail lights) so I could take it home and finish the reassembly. It was less expensive that way and I learned some things about the car. Win, win.

I've also taken one SEC to the local paint shop and had them do a profession buffing job on the car. That one had a decent paint job and the buff job brought it back to great. VERY shiny!!

Obviously I'm suggesting let a professional painter look at it to see what's the most cost effective way to get a great looking SEC. Both my SEC's sit in a garage so they're not exposed to any weather except while in use. YMMV.

Mike


2010/11/25 Vance Rowley <vance_rowley at hotmail.com>


I am thinking of getting a paintwork correction service done on my old 560 and I would like to know the thoughts of the group. There are lots of different standards of paintwork correction over here in the UK, with a very wide range of prices. I have seen the results on other cars even after a fairly low standard and cheap job. The results are amazing and look like new showroom condition after. My main concern is, how long does this look last, and could a cheap job actually ruin the paintwork. After all, to say the car is now 20 years old, the paintwork doesn't look bad, although a bit flat and dull.
I wouldn't want to have this done, only to find six months down the road, it would look worse than it does now. One of my thoughts is the wet sanding. Wouldn't this take off the clear coat which is the reason the paintwork looks as good as it does now after 20 years?
I know nothing about paintwork and hope that one or two of you can throw me a few tips.
Thanks,
 
Vance
1991 560 SEC Euro 


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