Hood Clearcoat Problems - Solved (uhhh...sorta) - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

Strife · #1 12-02-2006, 01:40 PM

My 85's hood clearcoating was very bad - a combination of a spill sometime in the past and sun. Running the car without a hood pad certainly didn't help. I talked to a paint shop and they told me that it's easier to strip it than to sand it, and there was no way that any painter would paint over it in any case - if SOME is coming off, it will all want to come off on the top of the car, and they would not guarantee their painting without (additional cost) removal. So, I thought I'd try to get just the clearcoating off with some stripper from Lowe's. Six hours later (see pic)...

Well, that wasn't what I had intended, but at least the painter (someone else or me, I haven't decided) will have a nice new surface to work with. I'll have to read up on what the recommended etching primer would be. I do know it's important to use THIS type of primer on bare metal.

Richard Wooldridge · #2 12-02-2006, 07:17 PM

Hi there,
I am facing the same problem on my '82 380SL - the clearcoat has peeled off most of the hood, also have a problem on the fender tops and rear quarter panel tops. I expect I'll have to go the stripper route also.
So, tell me, did the stripper have any problems getting the clearcoat off, or not? Also, what brand/type of stripper did you use? I think you can get the proper primer from most any aircraft supply house.
I'm planning on trying to repaint it myself - someone posted a paint supply house that matches the factory colors very closely - I think it's paintscratch.com in Incline Village, Nv. The only problem being that I'm also considering going to a slightly darker color. My car is the Anthracite, and I saw one last week that really looked great in a slightly darker, more bluish blackish color.

Strife · #3 12-02-2006, 11:38 PM

The stuff that I used was made by Jasco, in a can (there were also spray cans there, which I've used before on wheels).

This stuff is REALLY powerful, and you absolutely must wear THICK rubber gloves with it, and I would also wear a heavy shirt or jacket and eye protection. I get in the habit of double-checking the direction of a spray can before I press the nozzle. I "masked" the hood with garbage bags - if a drop of this stuff gets on paint you want to preserve for 5 seconds, the clearcoat will be damaged. The garage was not as warm as I would have liked - 65 degrees - but it was enough. I put it on with a cheap chip brush. You have to leave it on, thick, and let it do its work - don't get impatient and start scraping. I scraped off the dead paint with a steel putty knife, which, used carefully, did minimal scratching. I took the grille off and the embelem (good luck on removing the original embelem without damaging it, and be aware that real, metal replacements are hard to find and expensive). I used a little less than two cans, about $15 worth, and I used a little in a spray can that I had left over from wheels.

I found some apparently original patching done at the factory to raise a low spot, which was also removed by the paint remover. I had to go over some areas twice, a few three times. But it came off (remember, EVERYTHING comes off, not just the clearcoat) pretty easily.

I plan on at least priming this as soon as possible, because as you know, bare steel rusts almost instantly.

Richard Wooldridge · #4 12-03-2006, 01:23 AM

Yours is steel? Mine is aluminum! That's why I recommended looking at an aircraft supply place for primer...

Strife · #5 12-03-2006, 01:29 AM

You know, I didn't even bother looking, because I thought aluminum hoods were an 86+ feature - it sure IS aluminum. This poses more problems - getting stuff to stick to bare aluminum is very tricky.

The good news is, I guess I don't have to worry about rust!

POS · #6 12-03-2006, 09:31 AM

It is aluminum. What I was wondering was - are you sure it's clearcoat? In America, car paints were all acrylic enamal up until 1995, then clearcoating began. Was MB using clear back in 1985?

Strife · #7 12-03-2006, 10:03 AM

There was definitely a clearcoating over the paint - I can't say if this was original or not. It is odd that ONLY the hood, cowl vents and the piece that the wipers fits over were the only parts exhibiting this problem, though. The rest of the top of the car just had fading and chalking.

Richard Wooldridge · #8 12-03-2006, 10:22 AM

My 1982 380SL has clearcoat...

Earlybird · #9 12-06-2006, 04:31 PM

Please use a plastic bondo spreader to take off the softend paint. Those steel paint scraper scratches are much deaper than you think and will show up in your color coat and your clear coat without alot of prep and block sanding. The paint used in 2 part systems is mostly Urethane based (good impact and abrasion resistance).

Strife · #10 12-06-2006, 09:21 PM

I don't think that a bondo scraper would have gotten it (I wish I could have found my plastic scraper/putty knife); but I really was careful, I used a razor blade on some toughies, and I dont see anything that won't come out with 240 anyway (what I found underneath from the factory was kind of surprising in terms of scratching); I have to use an etching primer/surfacer anyway.