Thanks guys! The car doesn't leak any more since the PO had the trunk seal and rear window seal replaced. Since I live in the salt belt, the sub-par repairs that were previously done with moisture absorbing Bondo products didn't last. All the products I used are non-porous and moisture curing.

I made sure to keep the drain plugs clear too.



I wrapped up the wet sanding and painting today.

Here are the areas after spraying with high build primer, wet sanding and masking for paint.

Driver side:


Passenger side:


Before I sprayed the base coat I wiped the areas down with prep solvent and let it dry thoroughly. Then I sprayed 4 light coats of the base coat to maximize my chances of getting the metal flake even since I was using spray cans. I gave 10 minutes of flash time between coats and waited 30 minutes before spraying 3 wet coats of clear.

Driver side:




Passenger side:




It should be cured by tomorrow so I can wet sand the areas with 1500 grit sand paper and then compound it. The wet sanding and compounding will hide the mask lines as well. After that I'll spray the underside and wheel wells with rubberized undercoating and then reassemble everything. I'll post pics once I'm done doing all that and clean the car up.

__________________
Chad
2006 Nissan Pathfinder LE
1998 Acura 3.0 CL
OBK#44
"Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work." - Aristotle (384-322 B.C.)

SOLD
1985 300TD - Red Dragon
1986 300SDL - Coda
1991 - 300TE
1995 - E320
1985 300CD - Gladys

Is the rubberised coating that stone chip stuff or are using an underseal alternative?

I've been learning quite a bit about spraying recently (I've taken your advice and started to paint!) though it isn't going as smoothly as it seems to go with you - I brushed up against my stone chip coating and haven't had a chance to correct it yet...

__________________
1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!

Keep up the good work!

I used a spray rubberized undercoating just to help keep the salt off the underside of things. It helps keep stones from chipping anything too.

I only sprayed it under the trunk wells and inside the wheel wells. I ended up painting the rockers and jack holes with POR-15's Chassis Black. The Chassis Black dries to a flat black finish that looks good as is and will be tough enough without any rubberized undercoating.

__________________
Chad
2006 Nissan Pathfinder LE
1998 Acura 3.0 CL
OBK#44
"Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work." - Aristotle (384-322 B.C.)

SOLD
1985 300TD - Red Dragon
1986 300SDL - Coda
1991 - 300TE
1995 - E320
1985 300CD - Gladys

Today I wet sanded the painted areas with 1500 grit sand paper. I was careful at the mask edges so I could make the transition as smooth as possible without sanding through. Then I buffed it out with polishing compound and reassembled everything.

I'm happy with the results although I still plan to disassemble the whole car and get it painted next year. Except for the areas I just painted, the whole car looks like it was washed with a steel wool pad. Plus the trunk lid was repainted at some point previously and it looks flat compared to the rest of the car and the color is off.







You can still see the mask line on the underside of the fender lip, but it's not noticeable when you're standing and looking at it.

__________________
Chad
2006 Nissan Pathfinder LE
1998 Acura 3.0 CL
OBK#44
"Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work." - Aristotle (384-322 B.C.)

SOLD
1985 300TD - Red Dragon
1986 300SDL - Coda
1991 - 300TE
1995 - E320
1985 300CD - Gladys

Yeah I've been angle grinder with wire brush busy for some time now! I've been doing the whole - Marine Clean (POR15) - KBS rust blast - POR15 / KBS Rust seal - KBS Top coat (whatever it is called). It takes a long time. Especially to get rid of that sodding MB undercoating...

Nice job on the paint - when the paint hardens you might be able to T cut that masking join away a bit more. But like you say it isn't all that noticeable. You've got a smart looking car there - congratulations

__________________
1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!

As a newbie to w123s, and doubly so to a TD, just want to pass on my thanks for your great documentation of the rust work. I already know I will be following your lead in at least a couple of these areas, next spring.

cheers

__________________


Mac
2002 e320 4matic estate│1985 300d│1980 300td
Previous: 1979 & 1982 & 1983 300sd │ 1982 240d

“Let's take a drive into the middle of nowhere with a packet of Marlboro lights and talk about our lives.” ― Joseph Heller, Catch-22

Real nice work! It's amazing what you can do with spray cans if you use them right

__________________

1987 300TD 147,000 miles- Palomino leather interior, 1995 facelift and body cladding, E350 wheels, Rebuilt suspension and sport springs, rebuilt turbo, New Monarch injection pump and injectors....and the list goes on and on...

Want to come do a couple rust holes on my car? Great job!

I echo that statement I've got some rot going on in those exact same spots.

__________________
1983 240D, 272K+ miles (odo broke)

The fact that you're an artist comes through in every one of these bodywork posts you do, Chad. I need to get my garage cleaned out enough to be able to put my SEC in there and do the bodywork on it that's needed.

Thanks for the inspiration!

__________________
" We have nothing to fear but the main stream media itself . . . ."- Adapted from Franklin D Roosevelt for the 21st century

OBK #55

1998 Lincoln Continental - Sold
Max 1984 300TD 285,000 miles - Sold
The Dee8gonator 1987 560SEC 196,000 miles - Sold
Orgasmatron - 2006 CLS500 90,000 miles
2002 C320 Wagon 122,000 miles
2016 AMG GTS 12,000 miles

How did you get the rattle can color so close? My car isn't original paint... can they color match cans for you?

-J

__________________
1991 350SDL. 230,000 miles (new motor @ 150,000). Blown head gasket

Tesla Model 3. 205,000 miles. Been to 48 states!
Past: A fleet of VW TDIs.... including a V10,a Dieselgate Passat, and 2 ECOdiesels.
2014 Cadillac ELR
2013 Fiat 500E.