Paint Job Guru's opinions wanted
 

I will post some snappies tonight when I get my MB back from the shop this afternoon. Had the lower rear driver side quarter panel replaced. Got a super nice donor piece. Right now, front clip (less a hole under the battery tray) is 100% rot free and just a minor trace here and there of surface rust. From C pillar-rear door dogleg back is now rust free. Only rust - damaged areas are:

1. Floor pans
2. Doors.

I can easily swap out the doors, so that's not an issue

Floor pans are easy to replace ... just need to find the right ones.

So, I am really on the verge of a rust free W123.

Here is my question:

1. Is it better to strip the car down to the bare metal or is it better to just give it a good sanding? I can get dustless blasting done for around $1,000 for the entire car.

I am thinking of getting the engine bay painted shortly, and when I save my nickles and dimes, I can get the real paint job for the remainder.

Thoughts on my question please .... :)

I have painted a handful of cars, and about to paint a few Mercedes(2-R129's and a W140) when fall starts..

I have sandblasted one car if the car becomes a daily driver in all seasons. You will get parasitic-rust from edges, and corners(much like a root-iron fence that is painted, and not powder-coated).

Today's Primers are super. If the paint is not peeling, cracking on the panels I would sand off the top-coat off(the color coat). It is a royal pain to do..(block sanding). The use of SEM guide coat spray to check for waves. Then fill the waves with filler or filling primer...

Also, today's body filler will stick on old finishes. No need to take it to metal.Do not buy Bondo brand of plastic filler. Evercoat makes many high performance fillers, and do not use those pin-hole fillers that do not have a catalyst as you may have reaction to the topcoat finishes because they have not cured...

What paint system are you using? Are you just picking a color from a chart, or using a old factory color?

Are doing single stage? two stage? or three stage system?

What kind of shine are you after? Show car? or Car Dealer ? Orr rare auction car shine?

Martin

Hi Martin,

I know I am sticking with the factory color, which is Pastel Beige, H-684 (I think that is the code from memory).

I am looking for that deep shine which makes it look like the paint is an inch thick but the finish looks like glass. Hope that makes sense. I have only seen that look once and it was on a Packard. I used to have a few, but that's a separate story.

I really don't know a great deal about paint jobs yet. I know they start to get pricey. Even the product can push $500 a gallon ...

I do know this as to final outcome. When I get it painted, I want a final product which will probably last me another 20+ years since I really want the project finished and I am now addicted to that car finish after seeing the rear quarter panel installed. It looks really great. The guy who did the work, however, does not paint whole cars. He just does repairs.

I know the shine you're talking about. When my 300D was hit, I started looking into the different paint options. The shop that had cars looking like that sitting around stated their paint jobs started at ten grand and went up from there. I was looking for something that looked good from 20 feet and kept the car from rusting out from under me (pretty easy in the desert), so I went elsewhere.

I asked a similar question a few years back and got some good answers and advice =>

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/body-repair/272793-calling-all-paint-experts-good-idea-paint-cure-good-answers.html

To get that shine it will be a two stage paint( color base coat and clear coat). A three stage most times will be a pearl paint job where the pearl is sprayed after the color coat.

Here is where it changes... No mater what paint system you choose. To get that show car/Rare auction car shine you will need to go to 1:1 or 2:1 clear, and those clears are not made by the dupont's, PPG's, and Nason's of the world. The one 1:1 & 2:1 is the ratio of material to hardener. The big brands only do 4:1 (it will never be ten-mile deep clear).

SPI (southern polyurethanes) Southern Polyuerthanes, Inc. is one of the few companies that make the 1:1 or 2:1 clears. Their clears are like used +90% on all those Pebble Beach restoration cars that go to auction. The one guy that does these restorations uses SPI clears. I'm not saying the 4:1 clears are junk(which is what is common), yet the ten-mile look cannot be achieved on a 4:1 clear....

I used a 4:1 clear here. With a production clear(fast drying/thin clear-great for paining outdoors, or in less than favorable conditions-not a clear for a whole car) It is shiny, but not ten-miles deep...It still shines more than the rest of the car...I must have laid down 5 coats of clear..

pre-painted bumpers - Mercedes-Benz Forum

On your color, The reason i asked were you interested in factory matched color, or color from a chart. A matched color will cost $1000 USD a gallon(you still need activator and fish-eye reducer), yet a color from a color chart may cost ten times less?

One of the SL's I'm going to paint later will not have the factory "Mercedes Red", but a red off a chart which happens to be Viper Red(used on the Dodge Viper), but I will be using the SPI 1:1 clear.

Here is one guy who painted a large SUV in a bad environment(by my standards-over dirt), but the finish was excellent on SPI production clear(it dries fast).

Kirker question ............ • How to Paint Your Own Car, Auto Body Discussion Forum & Videos • AutoBody101.com

How soon can I apply masking tape to new paint? • How to Paint Your Own Car, Auto Body Discussion Forum & Videos • AutoBody101.com

Remarkable, painting over dirt?

Martin