Would appreciate comments on the quandry I'm in regarding actions I might or might not take due to faulty/failing MB paint. My 94 E320(I'm original owner owner) is Silver, been garaged and pampered. Condition is pristine, however when car is in sunlight the paint has millions of tiny crack like scrathes all over. Pint experts have looked this over and confirmed it's a failure of the base-color, not the clearcoat and would require complete removal and repaint.

My decision now is should I do this?

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...Bob

1994 E320
2001 Corvette Coupe
1998 Jetta
1996 Camry

Tough call, especially to just recommend one way or another without getting a real good look at it. Probably just falls back to if you are OK with the appearance or not. If you really need to look closely and maybe in only certain angles or lighting conditions, probably not worth it.
Gilly

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nothing is as good as original paint in terms of finish and rust protection. i would paint it only when it becomes a real embarrassment.

tom w

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Thanks for your thoughts. Yes, I understsnd it's difficult to make a valued judgement without seeing it in person. The body is flawless, no dings, etc but when seen in bright sunlight, the scratches(cracks) are quite apparent. The roof and trunk have blemishes as well. The hood is fine except for the side/front edges which have the scrathes.

In non-bright sunlight the car looks amazing...let the sun hit it and it's a mess. Very fustrating. Seeing as I've maitained this car meticulously, its makes me crazy to see this. In part I'm influenced by the thougts of keeping it "original". Then again I'd like it to present itself better than it does. It's like new in all other respects.

__________________
...Bob

1994 E320
2001 Corvette Coupe
1998 Jetta
1996 Camry

A Mercedes worthy strip and paint job could and would run $10,000 plus

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On a 94 E320 you'd want to do a 94 E320 worthy paint job, not a $10,000 paint job. If the clearcoat is stable why take it all off, unless they need the $10,000. It sounds to me like you could paint over it, remembering that it is a 94 E320. I would probably do nothing. You wouldn't want to do anything for less than $2k or $3k and the value of the car doesn't justify that.

That's far more than I was assuming. My guess was $4k-$5k. I'd never spend $10K. Its a E320 Sedan, Silver with Gray Leather, as I said it's in like new condition other than the paint, but it's not liketly to be "classic" model.
Doesn't sound like it would be worthwhile.

__________________
...Bob

1994 E320
2001 Corvette Coupe
1998 Jetta
1996 Camry

Dean, one shop recommended exactly that. He said there's a new product he used on another car with exactly the same paint flaw. It supposedly binds well and is very stable. He claims he did the customers car about a year ago and looks perfect. I believe this was still expensive, I ever really closed with him on what "my" cost would be. I told him honestly I was still undecided on
what/if anything I was going to do.

Thanks very much for the input...

__________________
...Bob

1994 E320
2001 Corvette Coupe
1998 Jetta
1996 Camry