I Googled and all I can find is info on the older cars. I have a 99 e300 and curious if you guys know if it's single stage or base/clear? It's 040 black if that matters.

I'm 100% sure it's 2-stage paint. Either I'm right or Cunningham's Law goes into effect and you can thank me either way.

They have clear coat.

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Jim

I have a '97 E300D. It sure looks to be clear coat, to my old tired eyes, anyhow. Never heard the "Cunningham Law" reference. Had to look it up. Great one!
Does anyone know why, exactly, single stage paint was abandoned? Was it cost, ineffciency in application, environmental(would be my guess)? I wonder if there's a law that states: "If something utilized in the mfg process is very effective, works like a champ and lasts forever, then abandon it". Again, why this is such an excellent forum. Always learning here and not just about fine, vintage Mercedes diesels!

Here's an interesting article on that:

https://benklesc.medium.com/when-paint-jobs-lasted-forever-the-lost-art-of-single-stage-9f99973befaf

Basically it comes down to cost.

It's honestly easier to fix a dingy single-stage paint (NOT by buffing) versus a clear coat that is failing and starting to peel, but a clear coat system is easier to make it look good initially. Also metallic single-stage paints were notorious for being hard to keep looking good since the metal flakes would oxidize and turn dark, so a clear coat eliminated that issue.

Always cost (damned bean counters). Not sure when cost became the big #1 concern, but the ONLY thing it helped was the bottom line. Too bad. Quality suffers because of it, to this day, on everything.
Thanks for the great link! Lots of good info there. Gotta love the pics of cars with their original single stage, looking "good as new"!

Interesting article. I thought all new cars were now 100% painted by robots - color and clear. Guess not?