This is my old W123 which was sold to a couple, Just thought I would share my budget paint job





Some of you may have been following my post with questions about wetsanding here -
Have I gone mad? Roller painting my Mercedes -Wetsand ?'s - Auto Geek Online Auto Detailing Forum

Well today I finished the car up, putting it back together and wiping it down.

The total came out to just under $60 in reality. While this is a low budget paint job, the man hours involved was pretty high.

Roughed car up with 320 grit and removed trim and emblems.

Method was using Rustoleum Gloss White thinned to about 1:1 with Mineral Spirits and a dash or 2 of Pentrol. Rolled on in thin coats with a dense 4inch foam roller. 2 coats, wetsand, 2 coats, wetsand going up in grit each time.. Total of 9 coats. I will let it sit for about a month before I do a final wetsand with 2500grit and a 2 step.

On to the pictures!


Stripped down and ready to ROLL (My dad in the pic)-




After the first coat (Morale was very low at this point)-




2nd Coat (Ok a bit better)-




I think this is coat 4 or 5 -




Pulled outside for wetsanding-




Coat 7 (Now we are talking!)-




And now some glamour shots. I still need to take some paint thinner and get some of the spots where the wetsand slurry and drips are. Really excited to be able to polish it.






















Bonus: Redid the wheels using Rustoleum wheel spray, prepped, primed, painted and clearcoated.








ALSO if anyone knows where I can get the trim for my front driver side quarter panel, would apreciate it!

Very nice!!!! Lot of work, but clearly worth it. I have heard of this technique before. Temped to do it myself.

Congrats on the "new" ride!

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1991 560 SEL / 185k miles
1992 750il / 17k miles - project car

Wow that looks amazing!

I need to do that to my W124.....

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-diesel is not just a fuel, its a way of life-
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'17 Metris(VITO!) - 37k - wifes (OC-41k)
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'13 ML350 Bluetec - 95k - dad's (OC-98k)
'01 SL500 - 103k(km) - dad's (OC-110,000km)
'16 E400 4matic Sedan - 148k - Brothers (OC-155k)

I'm strongly considering going DIY on my girlfriends car for a repaint. I can deal with many hours behind the work, but in reality, how difficult is this?

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- 1979 W123 240D 4-speed, 390k miles

Thanks guys!

Those after pics were from the day we put it back together. Generally wait a month or so to do a final wetsand with 2500 and then compound polish it.

I did not prep it as good as I would have liked, just roughed up with 320-400. Also did not tape around the front as well as I should of (You can see a small run on bumper)

I'm thinking about it too. Black will be easy


Also, why didn't you remove the front bumper? The car came out nicely

littlehandegan, looks very nice in the pics! Can you describe how it looks in person say compared to a factory paint job?

When it gets warmer, I may try the process on a small section of scrap metal (around 2 ft x 2 ft) and see what the results look like, then decide if would do a whole car.

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85 300D turbo pristine w 157k when purchased 161K now
83 300 D turbo 297K runs great. SOLD!
83 240D 4 spd manual- parted out then junked

I think it came out great. Looks wayyy better than a maaco job.

If someone were to remove every piece of trim and stuff it would look even better.

Cant complain!

Sounds encouraging! I looked up Pentral and I think what you used is Penetral? It's for leveling out brush/ roller marks?

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85 300D turbo pristine w 157k when purchased 161K now
83 300 D turbo 297K runs great. SOLD!
83 240D 4 spd manual- parted out then junked

Correct. Picked it up around coat 3-4 too try it out. Can't hurt!

That could pass as a factory job from the distance seen in the pictures. Congratulations! I've been contemplating doing the roll-on Rustoleum method as well (in two-tone). I figure that it can't look any worse than the paint currently on it. Unfortunately, I have lots of small dents.

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Stop paying for animal enslavement, cruelty, and slaughter. Save your health and the planet. Go vegan! I did 18 years ago. https://challenge22.com/

DON'T MESS WITH MY MERCEDES!


1967 W110 Universal Wagon, Euro, Turbo Diesel, Tail Fins, 4 Speed Manual Column Shift, A/C
1980 W116 300SD Turbo Diesel, DB479 Walnut Brown, Sunroof, Highly Optioned, 350,000+ Miles

Tractor supply sells implement paint with an activator which may be better then rustoleum for cars because it chemically hardens instead of taking several months.

It's about the same price. While I think that this is a fantastic effort, a gallon of white automotive paint will cost less about $250 and you can spray a car in less then an hour. While the brush painting may be a couple of hundred bucks cheaper in materials, it's a butt load more work and a lot more things can go wrong as it takes so long to try.

For me, it's not worth the aggro.

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With best regards

Al

No clear coat? Just asking. Why didn't you get a sprayer to paint it?

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85 Merc 300D - Unwinding 31 years of wear
86 VW TD
Mahindra Diesel
Iseki Diesel

In 2007 I didn't own a diesel.

wow, very nice ! if my white 240 was looking like that now i would be doing good !!

i remember my father(from Germany, Mercedes Mechanic) telling me about how one time he "rollered" a car with some house paint and then sold it......it probably didnt look this good though.....

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-Justin

I believe in extreme automotive perfection whenever possible.......there is no such thing as "It doesn't matter" !!!

1985 300 CDT - 287k miles

1980 240 D - 340k miles

With extras !!

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I've been spray painting cars (not professionally) for 50 years or more. I don't understand why people seem to be afraid of the spray gun. The Tractor Supply paint is cheap enough and all of it can be sprayed much more quickly that it can be rolled/brushed and then blocked and buffed. Most rental stores will rent a compressor and gun for not a lot of money and gun techniques can be mastered with a little practice (get an old hood and make your mistakes there). No big deal, really.

All that said, you clearly put the effort into making this a nice job and you should be proud of your results - looks good! The errant dribbles should come right off with lacquer thinner.

Dan