I guess I will try my luck on the less visible area behind the wheel well first. If it looks ok I will proceed to the other areas that need paint. Thanks for all of the help.

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1979 240D- 316K miles - VGT Turbo, Intercooler, Stick Shift, Many Other Mods - Daily Driver

1982 300SD - 232K miles - Wife's Daily Driver

1986 560SL - Wife's red speed machine

Enamel is generally not good paint for touch up. It can be catalyzed but not from a spray can, so it's necessarily air dried and very slow to dry. It's also not good for wet sanding or other finessing which dulls the natural sheen. For blending edges with a spray can you're much better off with lacquer. Virtually all (if not all) automotive touch up spray cans are lacquer. It dries quickly, you can sand it right away, and put on another coat. It's much better at blending but still for the best result you need to melt the edge with spray thinner. The right answer is urethane over entire panels. There are lots of tradeoffs with spot touch up repairs.

Would buffing waxing bring back the sheen that was lost by sanding? From all of the advice I have received it seems like it is going to be tough to get these repairs to look good. My goal now is just to make it look decent and protect it until I can plunk down a big chunk of change for a full paintjob in a few years.

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1979 240D- 316K miles - VGT Turbo, Intercooler, Stick Shift, Many Other Mods - Daily Driver

1982 300SD - 232K miles - Wife's Daily Driver

1986 560SL - Wife's red speed machine

Sorry to interrupt....

I've got a burgundy 82 wagon. It oxidizes.... bad. After a nice waxing, the top and passenger side look great. Given a little time, they get chalky (especially the top!) Would a washing and clear coating help???


Thanks

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'90 300SE --- 173k miles --- (Odometer just stopped working!)

'85 Cali 300D --- 193500 miles --- (Second one) Sold Nov '10

'82 300TDT --- 236,xxx miles --- (My first one) Sold July '09

My experience with red cars or cars in the red/burgandy family is that you may need to use a paint cleaner first, then a high quality polish. I can't remember the brand I have but it is a German cleaner/polish available from Herrington's catalog. Good luck.

We sand with 1000 and 1500 wet paper then buff with a foam pad and glaze. Never sand the edges of the blend though, just buff over them.

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95 SL500 Smoke Silver, Parchment 64K
07 E350 4matic Station Wagon White 34K
02 E320 4Matic Silver/grey 80K
05 F150 Silver 44K

I bought this in small 10 oz. bottles like 8 years ago from Herrington and I still have some left. I cannot say how great this stuff is. It's easy to work with and it easily lasts about 6 months.

I first used it on my 82' 300 D in English Red. The all-in-one took tons of oxidation out and the after the sealant was applied, it looked like it was clear coated. The paint didn't even look that bad, but afterward it looked like a new paintjob.

I parked my 86' 16V outside one night under a leaky gutter filled with rotten leaf and pine needle debris. In the morning the clear coat was oxidized-- I flipped After I got myself together I remembered the Klasse With almost no effort it completely took away all the oxidation

This stuff just seems to be made for German cars with the way it just brings out the depth in the paint (especially black or dark colors) and you can just keep applying it layer after layer to get more shine. And, you can use it on just about everything-- not just the paint.

I can't wait to see what it will do on my 93' 400 e in Black Pearl.

http://www.superiorcarcare.net/klalpo.html

Do not waste your time doing this repaint work with off the shelf rattle can products. There are a few paint suppliers around that can make custom rattle cans. What I mean is that they can mix catalyst and product, such as base with its catalyst or clear with its catalyst and fill a rattle can with it. What you must understand though, is that the pot life of many of these products is no more than 3 hours. That means you will have to have the surface all prepped and ready to shoot, get them to make the mix, fill the can and go straight home and apply it. I would even have my old clothes and a shoot suit on when I picked up the product so you were ready to shoot as soon as you get home.

If you live in a large city, look for automotive paint suppliers and call them to see if they can make custom aerosol cans. I expect that some of them will think you are crazy when you ask this question because it's not very common.

I realize as well as anyone that funds and resources can be limited. That said, a compressor and paint gun could be a very good investment. I made this investment over 30 years ago when I could have had the work done for less, but I have had use of the equipment for all this time. I just recently upgraded the equipment, but I still feel that it is a very good investment.

Good luck,

Also consider using an auto paint shop with a color spectrum analyser. Maybe take in the fuel cap cover flap for color matching. Your old ivory is going to be quite fadded probably. Your color is one of the easiest to get close for those machines I believe so take advantage of it.
Just posted this very late on the off chance you have not had good weather yet. It kind of hurts to try to get a good blend but the colour turns out a different shade when dry.