W123 Single Stage Enamel clean up
 

I gave up on the original paint on our Orient Red 1981 240D about 2 years ago, I figured it was dust. But I ran into a friend that is still into detailing vintage cars, he said to try a new Meguiar's product 3 in1 Wax.

So I tried the 3 in 1, very good stuff indeed but the paint needed more than just that. I gently used Meguiar's Ultimate Compound (it has a pic of an old 450SL on the bottle), before it dries I wipe it off and the go over the spot immediately with Meguiar's 3 in 1 wax. I'm using a tiny spray of Meguiar's Gold Class Premium Quick detailer while removing the 3 in 1 wax as well. My tired old paint didn't turn out like new but it looks so much better!

Generally speaking I wouldn't touch an old Benz with the original single stage paint with Meguiar's, it just makes things worse as do most compounds or wax on the market. The paint that came on these old cars is difficult and frustrating to work with.

I'm doing a bit every day, it's all hand work and no machines since there isn't much paint left on this car it would be real easy to go through to metal. Maybe you can see the progress in the pics, the hood right next to the cowel is pretty easy to see the difference between untouched and both steps. The pic of the C pilar and the boot show it but not as clearly.

I'm giving this 3 in 1 wax two thumbs up.

I am buying some after seeing those pics.

In my opinion, single stage paints are very fun to work with but you need to know how they work so that you can know how to take care of them. Single stage paint jobs require nourishing from time to time and act like leather. This is a simple fundamental most people don't know about as single stage is quickly becoming a thing of the past.

For example, if in theory you were to leave a piece of leather out in the elements, eventually it would dry out. But if you every so often went out and moisturized this hypothetical piece of leather, it would maintain its supple characteristics. And of course if you indefinitely left the leather out in the elements without any protection, eventually it would crack (this represents a single stage paint job that is too far gone and has oxidized to the point of no return and lets hope your car isn't the case.)

Single stage paint is pretty much the same as leather, characteristically speaking, in that the two are somewhat porous and can take in products. The absolute very first thing you'll want to do is to nourish the paint with a feeder oil such as Meguiar's #7. (Of course ater cleaning debris off the paint first.) M07 will soak into the paint and begin to condition the paint just like my leather example. Remember that single stage paints are not sealed with a clear coat and consequently can take in products that are applied onto them.

Remember that any information about paint work that you will find in regards to modern day base coat clear coat paint jobs will not be applicable to single stage paints; you need to understand this.

I'm not at all saying what you have done with this car is at all bad but if you REALLY want to bring the paint back to life I'd recommend reading over Mike Phillips' guide to restoring oxidized single stage paint. His article is super in-depth and encompasses how to bring paint, such as yours, back to beautiful quality by using the right products and techniques. It is often someone such as yourself believes the paint is shot and requires a repaint to look beautiful again and although this could be the case, I have a feeling if you follow Mike's guide you'll be solid with this car.

At this point with your vehicle, the paint could be in an unstable state as you mentioned the paint is getting so thin. If this is a confirmed variable then you will probably have paint that looks nice for a while and then reverts back to its oxidized ways fairly quickly. Even after following the guide I linked, you might be running into this issue but I say it is worth a shot. Though there is also the chance that you can bring this paint job back to looking and staying excellent if you follow the right procedures. The last thing you want to do is break out a buffer and it is good that you recognize this.

The bottom line is that your paint is heavily oxidized and yeah if you use a product such as you did here, it will look nice for a while. I'll bet that the paint returns to an oxidized state in the near future as you haven't nourished the paint but have simply masked over the problem. I know you love this car and I simply had to write this all for you. Maybe you don't want to go through the long process that I've sort of explained but if you want to preserve this vehicle I strongly recommend you check out the link below:

Here is the holy grail link for single stage paints: https://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/how-to-articles-by-mike-phillips/25304-secret-removing-oxidation-restoring-show-car-finish-antique-single-stage-paints.html


You know what, I'm going to steal some of Mike's photos and link them below. I'd like to think he wouldn't mind.

1972 Lincoln Continental Single Stage Before:

https://i.imgur.com/e1pmA0Q.jpg

After:
https://i.imgur.com/f58q51S.jpg

1960 Ford Ranchero Single Stage Before:

https://i.imgur.com/O0EAgvq.jpg
After:
https://i.imgur.com/rHT1dbE.jpg

And Of Course a 1972 Mercedes-Benz 280 SE Single Stage Paint Hood Before:

https://i.imgur.com/xnTi6Fa.jpg
Hood After:
https://i.imgur.com/KHiduAC.jpg

This is what Mikes client told him about the car before performing a miracle on the paint: "He told me the paint was oxidized, especially the hood, trunk and roof. He also told me he took it to a local body shop where he was told the paint couldn't be saved but they could repaint it for around $2000.00 but this would not include removing all the chrome and stainless steel trim, nor the bumpers or emblems, basically an entry level paint job."

I hope these inspire you to think that maybe if you follow the right steps, you can bring your car back to its former glory. Here is another article to look at:

https://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/how-to-articles-by-mike-phillips/66800-4-steps-restore-single-paint-paint-1972-mercedes-benz-280-se.html

(None of these pictures are mine but they prove that Mike's methods work and the secret becomes apparent once you read over his articles) I've worked on single stage paints many times but I wouldn't consider myself an expert but I'll say that the information I've outlined here is regurgitated from Mike who is an expert. I've used his methods and had excellent results.

This is the right way to do it though and I think you'd be hard pressed to find any better information about single stage paint. I hope this helps someone else out there in the future.

Good luck

Agree^ if you want to go deep into the rabbit hole you can make your old Benz show car worthy.

Autogeek is your greatest assets. I remember reading this very article

There’s not enough paint left to go crazy on it. I was a detailer back when these cars were new, I worked on a number of W114’s back then, along with then new w126 and an assortment of wild exotics. This paint was a nightmare then and still is. I’m shocked this one is coming up at all. The front clip was repainted long ago but the rest is original and tired. It is going through on the boot, that’s how thin it is.

I had a crazy paint restoration done on it 4 years ago, the fellow says there isn’t enough left to do it again. But he also suggested the 3 in 1, he is not a fan of Meguiar’s except for this product and two of the spray on products, they do a decent job feeding the older paints.

Yeah I totally see what you're saying but at the same time, Meguiar's #7 is non abrasive and wouldn't do anything to your paint but help it. I'd definitely refrain from any kind of polisher though.

So I ran out of the Ultimate Detailer spray and grabbed a bottle of the Meguiar's Express Detailer spray off of my shelf. Night and day, I went and bought some more of the ultimate detailer to use to keep the wax wet while I was working on the paint since the Express wax spray didn't get it done. All of whatever is in the Ultimate stuff is required to get this car looking good.

I'm close to done, I decided to use the DA on the flat sides of the doors, but thankfully most of the hand work is done.

The car looks shockingly good, I couldn't be happier with it.