Car: 87 300SDL, Pearl Grey Mettalic Clearcoat paint. The clearcoat layer appears to have been attacked by some chemical. There are what appear to be (at first) water spots on the surface. Closer examination shows them to be etched into the clearcoat layer. Short of a new paint job (++$$) what to do? Other than this, the car is cherry and is my daily driver.

Tom,
Search the Shop Forum archives (search function in top right corner of screen) for posts regarding "water spots" or "water marks". That should be all you need. If that info does not do the trick for you feel free to post back and we will take it from there.

Best of Luck...Lee

Tom, I'd be very interested in hearing about how you fix this.

I didn't know what was meant by "water spots" in the previous posts, but I do now. I made the goof of getting garden hose water on the hood of my car (also pearl black) when it was hot and not drying it off. It left spots that Meguiars #9 won't touch.

I plan to try the clay treatment next to get out this as well as some bird crap residue that #9 won't fix either.

There are more severe measures available from both Meguiar's and 3M. I will look up the numbers and terminology if you are still interested. Offhand I seem to remember there being 3 "levels" beyond the #9 phase. The most aggressive being one step above wet sanding.... Not to be done lightly but if all else fails. Give the clay a try first. BTW Meguiar's clay is too soft to work on most stuff. Clay Magic works much better but use #34 or Slick Stuff as the spray lubricant.

Best of Luck...Lee

Tom, Had this on a 83 300 SD (Anthracite Grey) that I used to own. I got it cheap and other than the paint it was cherry too. Unfortunately I learned that the paint was unsalvageable and it needed to be repainted. In fact, this was the second repaint needed for the exact same thing. Mine was much worse on the hood than either the top or the trunk, but all horizontal surfaces were affected. I do wish you luck but it it's anything like mine was, I'm afraid you may need a repaint.

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TXBill
82 300 SD
79 240 D

Lee, I can't seem to find Clay Magic. I found Mothers' clay bar, though. Have you ever used it? Any good?

I have not used Mother's Clay yet. I bought the Meguiar's because most of their other stuff works great. I got the Clay Magic on a whim and have been pleasantly suprised. I think Clay Magic has a website but I'm not sure. I just get it at the local Pep Boys for about twenty bucks. BTW don't use the spray lubricant that comes with the Clay Magic. You will spend the next 8 hours trying to remove its streaks and associated ugliness. Just use the Clay Magic bar with #34 for best overall results. I'd give all the more aggressive measures from Meguiar's or 3M a shot before repainting. At that point, you have little to lose.

Best of Luck...Lee

I'm finally getting ready to do this to the '87. Any change this can be done with a wheel or orbital buffer? I've got carpal tunnel syndrome really bad. I've rubbed out lacquer jobs as a kid (Dad was a body & fender man) and if I do this with my hands, I'll be off work for a week. Please advise.

Tom,
I sympathize with your condition. Fortunately there is a good solution. Use only an orbital buffer with a top quality pad. Simply apply the Meguiar's #9 to the applicator pad and go to town with the orbital on the affected areas. The downside is that you still get best results removing by hand.

Oh, #9 can work miracles (had some experience with this recently) if you use it in many/several steps. Instead of applying once and buffing the crap out of it, apply-remove, apply-remove, over and over again. It would seem #9 takes off very little paint so you can keep going down VERY gradually until the problem is gone without risking the finish too much. Plus, the #9 leaves a finish ready for polish. Most of the more aggressive measures have to be gone over with progressively less aggressive compounds before the finish is presentable again. This method recently took out pretty significant acid rain damage to the horizontals of a 95' C36.

Since you are using an orbital (avoid rotary buffers if possible) you will need a couple applicator pads and (since you probably will want to use minimal manual effort) a bunch of removal pads (100% cotton terry works great). Foam is okay for application, then use the terry to remove as much of the used #9 of the finish as possible. You will probably have to give the removal a quick once over with a rag by hand but the orbital can probably do most of it for you. Meguiar's has a top notch orbital. The same buffer is available/known as the Porter-Cable unit. Search the shop forum archives for references to it and its use/availability/etc.

Once you have done repeated apply/remove #9 cycles (till the finish meets with your eye's approval) it is time to go to the next stage. You will want to switch to a new applicator pad and apply #7 to the entire area. Keep up the apply/remove cycle until you get no more black residue on the removal pads/rags.

Then go to your 3rd applicator orbital or manual pad and apply a good coat of Meguiar's Gold Class liquid was or #26. Then remove with your choice of clean removal rag/pad.

Once you complete the above steps you should be amazed at the difference. If you have any questions just let us know and we'll do our best. A quick search/review of past detailing posts for any supplemental technique/info may prove helpful as well. Good Luck!

Hope this helps...Lee

Hi,

I own a 1990 Grey 300E. I have noticed that the paint around the edges of the front hood is 'faded'. I don't know what I can do to restore the shine in this area. The rest of the paint looks great except for a couple of very tiny 'rust' spots.

2. The leather covering for the panel that holds the seat belt (at the shoulder) is peeling off at the corners. what can I use to fix this?

3. I need to buy small things like floor mats, the plastic/rubber covering at the base
of the antenna etc,. where is a good place to buy such stuff?

4. Does anyone know of a good repair shop in Dallas metroplex area (TX)?

thanks.

freud1,
For the paint, use the steps outlined above and search the Shop Forum for older detailing posts. If you can't find what you need I can email you a collection of them that is sort of a detailing FAQ.

If the leather that is letting go is intact and cosmetically acceptable you either need to have it restitched (if it is in a stictched seam/joint/area) or have it re-glued. By your description, I *think* you can get some adhesive and some C-clamps.

We should be able to get you the parts and stuff that you need via PartsShop. Fill out a parts inquiry for anything you need and we'll get back to you ASAP.

As far as a service center in the Dallas area: I don't know any offhand but if you posed the question in "tech help" as well, someone may know somebody/place/etc.

Hope this helps...Lee

Lee,

Yes, Clay Magic is at www.automagic.com

freud1,

You might wish to try NineEleven Enterprises for a great Mercedes service source. They are on the web at www.nineeleven.com

Hope this helps.


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Hope this helps.

Phil B.
1992 300CE