I have a Question about color matching/mixing for 85 Mercedes 300D.
 

I have a Question about color matching/mixing for 85 Mercedes 300D.The two color codes I am interested in, Mercedes 1985 Dark Blue Clearcoat 904 or Smoked Silver Clearcoat 702 would be prohibitively expensive to custom mix. In lieu of the fact that this is my first paint job, its probably not worth going that route or is it? By using a paint thats mixed in say 60 gallons and seems to match up on the color chart I would probably save a ton of money or would I. Please remember that the I would settle for a slight shade off, I am more interested in a good quality paint. Is there a specific On Line Distributor of Paint that offers a wide spectrum of stock colors? Thusfar I like Smartshoppers Inc. because they are easy to deal with.

Rich-

I have a pal who bought a can of Kirker Mack Blue ( I assume you are considering that) to repaint his Suburban. Unfortunately, he hasn't gotten around to it yet (and won't be in town for awhile). I am seriously considering this paint for my W116, whenever I get around to that.

You can call Kirker and get a REAL paint chip chart (free) to give you an idea- much better than the web

There was a place I called a few weeks ago ( discussed on Autobody101 forum)that seems to have custom Valspar paint at very reasonable prices. I was calling for Maple Yellow urethane. Probably will be pricey in blue. This place:

http://www.autopaintdirect.com/

Rick

The BIG DAY is soon
 

How did you know I was looking at Mack Blue or Dark Blue?
I went and got a 7000 cfm shop fan to blow the vapors away!

Hope to send you pix in mid Septemeber!

Yeah good-

I owe you some pix of mine, but my camera is out of sorts. The wife just waxed it- it does look good in ersatz Signalrot (Kirker GM Flame Red #81)

Custom mix paint at napa (where i work) is only $200 a gallon. Get good paint, it isnt that much more expensive, everything else is , clearcoat, hardener, etc.

I would highly recomend PPG. Their OMNI line of paint is an excellent product that color matches better than any I have seen.
You can go to paintscratch.com to pick your color, then when you have the code you can have your paint mixed. OMNI is also around 200 a gallon. The reducer is another $70, and the clear is 90-120.
This is for good stuff. Cheaper paints and clears will fade alot faster.