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I'm think I'm gonna get into tackling some minor appearing surface rust on the E300 tonight. I'm gonna be inspecting the right front spring perch area, as I know I have some surface rust but without removing the rubber undercoating I can't exactly tell. There are some areas that have minor rust and wanted some pointers to how to properly tackle the rust.


1. Already purchased a wire wheel to attach to my dril to remove the loose/light rust
2. Have Eastwood's Rust Converter (purchased this as you can use this on rusted or bare steel)
3. Bought Eastwood's Rust Encapsulator to coat the "converted" areas
3. Bought Eastwood's Seam Sealer (to coat in the creases underneath and behind the spring perch)
4. Let it all dry nicely ?

Question is, after grinding off the light surface rust, should I wipe the clean exposed steel with anything? Isopropyl Alchhol, to ensure it's oil free and clean. I read somewhere to wipe the area down with a wet rag, as the water will neutralize the "acid" that causes rust....

Ideas guys. I'm eager to get my E300 back on the road, I miss her. And the E55 springs installed

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#dieselFLEET
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'97 E300
'99 E300

Rust is FeO2, or iron oxide. Water helps rust form, acid really speeds up the oxidation process.

You can use alcohol or acetone to clean the metal. Just do not get any on the good paint.

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RRGrassi


70's Southern Pacific #5608 Fairmont A-4 MOW car

13 VW JSW 2.0 TDI 193K, Tuned with DPF and EGR Delete.

91 W124 300D Turbo replaced, Pressure W/G actuator installed. 210K

90 Dodge D250 5.9 Cummins/5 speed. 400K

A wire wheel is typically softer than the iron oxide/rust. Running the wire wheel on the rust will polish it and give it a nice silver color from the wire, but won't remove it. I've used a Snap-On Krud Thug tool with their carbide wire wheel with good results however.

You likely will need to sandblast to get to virgin steel. Some welding shops will allow you to sandblast or will do the work for you for a minor fee, or if you have a sizeable air compressor (>5hp) you can buy a cheap sandblast nozzle and coarse sand to do it yourself. A sandblast outfit is an excellent toy to have around for everything from lawn furniture to auto resoration, the bigger the better (I use a diesel-powered one with a power-ventilated protective suit).

I don't have an E300 myself, but my good friend's '99 had the spring perch failure a couple of years ago (never in salt). One problem with the failure is that IMO it is not preventable, the rust occurs between the spring perch and inner body where the bond is made by the spot welds, and there is no way IMO to access that area mechanically.

Your only hope in preventing this rust might be to stop the rust chemically as only liquids etc. will be able to get between the steel parts.

Another concern that I have is whether your work will void any goodwill spring-perch work that Mercedes might offer in the event of a failure.

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Gone to the dark side

- Jeff

I have run that wire wheel and cleaned off the exposed surface rust to expose virgin metal. The area's that were more affected by the rust are, as you stated polished. I will clean off the rust to the best of my ability and apply a few coats of the Eastwood Rust converter I purchased. I was clearing some of it last night and was yanking on that perch and she's on there solid. I was slightly rocking the car back and forth side to side, so she ain't coming off anytime soon. I hope that with a good treatment of the Eastwood products this should stop the rusting and prevent further damage.

I already had an MB rep look at the car last year and they denied my spring perch claim. They referred me to their body shop that handle most of their work though :-)


My thoughts are if I stop the rust from continuing to progress and with the perch still on their solidly, I should be trouble free for some time.

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#dieselFLEET
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'97 E300
'99 E300