Author Topic: Welding MB Star in Grille  (Read 7809 times)

Matthew Epstein

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Welding MB Star in Grille
« on: September 13, 2009, 18:19:52 »
The star in my grille was knocked out.  Does any one have experience in how to weld the star back in.  I have removed the entire grille assembly and taken it apart.  Thanks.  Matthew Epstein

dseretakis

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Re: Welding MB Star in Grille
« Reply #1 on: September 13, 2009, 23:04:49 »
If you weld it then you will damage any chrome plating.  You will have to replate the entire grille.  In addition to that you will have to remove all plating prior to welding.  In order to properly weld you must have clean bare metal devoid of paint or any plating.  I believe that these are triple plated, in other words copper, nickel, chrome.  All that has to come off the areas to be welded.  This is all assuming that the star is steel and not pot metal.  I honestly don't believe that it is made of pot metal but I can't say that with any certainty.

ejboyd5

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Re: Welding MB Star in Grille
« Reply #2 on: September 13, 2009, 23:13:59 »
They weren't welded in at the factory, why would you want to do so now?  Look at other examples, determine how they are fastened together, isolate what is wrong with yours and fix it accordingly.  Some new parts may be necessary.

66andBlue

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Re: Welding MB Star in Grille
« Reply #3 on: September 14, 2009, 01:32:47 »
I was reading some reports on the German Pagoda site where people had used "Laser welding" to attach the star again to its outer ring.  I am not sure how common this technique is in the US. Nomal welding will not work until you do a lot a very fine filing afterward and complete rechroming of the assembly.
Alfred
1964 230SL manual 4-speed 568H signal red
1966 230SL automatic 334G light blue (sold)
1968 280SL automatic (now 904G midnight blue)

lurtch

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Re: Welding MB Star in Grille
« Reply #4 on: September 14, 2009, 02:58:16 »
Matthew:     If you cannot justify the USD $800 for a new star barrel consider the following - -

I had all three broken out when I got the car. I drove around with this "cheap-charlie" repair until last year.

Find some shim stock (or tuna can) and fabricate the "V"s that you see in the photo. Then capture them between the star halves as you tighten them together. Bend  down the tips a little to create a hook end.

Step 5: start a savings account for your new one.

Regards, Larry in CA

P.S. I found my serviceable one on eBay for $85. It only had one broken tip




Larry Hemstreet  in  N. Cal.

1966  230SL  (restored) Met. Anthracite w/ Maroon leather
1981  300TD-T (Concours condition, 86K, GETRAG 5sp.)
1982  300TD-T (parted out)
1986  560SEC (totaled)
1991  300TE (gifted)
1998  E320 (sold)
2004  E320 wagon (gifted)
2008  CLK550 Cabriolet

mdsalemi

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Re: Welding MB Star in Grille
« Reply #5 on: September 14, 2009, 11:55:29 »
Lurtch,

WOW!  Really, rather than waste a lot of time with a ridiculous quest for a like new $800 grill star for $200, or a crusade for the Holy Grail, or research for cold fusion, you really put your nose to the grindstone and came up with a good workable fix.  I like it!  Great job.
Michael Salemi
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bsimaz

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Re: Welding MB Star in Grille
« Reply #6 on: September 14, 2009, 13:54:38 »
Welding is tough.  I believe the star is cast aluminum?  Anyway,  I ground the end just a little bit to create a flat spot.  Then drilled a small hole in the end of the star and a corresponding hold in the ring.  used a small finish nail, cut to lenght to connect the two and use an epoxy (like JB Weld) to 'glue' the two together.  After letting it cure, file any high spots and 'touch up' the area with a silver paint.  Looks OK from a distance and will hold pretty well until a replacement can be found.

mdsalemi

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Re: Welding MB Star in Grille
« Reply #7 on: September 16, 2009, 12:10:04 »
Cast aluminum?  We should be so lucky.  I believe it is the dreaded "pot metal" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pot_metal or mostly zinc.

Cheap and easy to cast, it is so soft and brittle and fragile, that the Stars break.  A 3 year old toddler grabbing it can destroy it in a heartbeat.  That perhaps would not be so bad if the Star were made available as a separate piece apart from the [indestructible] barrel but it isn't.  Also, if the cost to replace it bore some resemblance to reality.  It's no wonder Tom Hanson used to tell me that these things were in stock at Caliber Motors!  They break all too often.

If I needed a Star (thank goodness I do not) I would be less annoyed at paying the $800+ for it if it were cast out of stainless or brass or something other than pot metal.  While the design of the star points around a circle won't win any awards for strength, the material it is cast from is substandard; maybe it was fine when the assemblies cost $50 back in 1970 but at $800 I think any MB owner should expect a better quality product.

Perhaps we should add this to the request for parts--that future iterations of this Star be made a quality product out of a quality material.

I would be remiss if I didn't add that it would be wrong to infer ALL parts are overpriced or or poor quality, or both.  The new, official MB one-piece wheel covers, for example, are absolutely a stunning work of art.  Highly polished stainless steel, very high quality that would be tough to equal.  They stand by themselves as high quality, but are also an improvement (IMHO) over the original plated steel ones which rusted once the plating wore.  I had a set of "repros" once, and they looked OK--until you put them next to the MB ones.  Then the thinner, duller stainless looked horrific.  The MB lawyers have since ensured that these repros (because of the 3-point star) have gone away.
« Last Edit: September 17, 2009, 12:22:34 by mdsalemi »
Michael Salemi
Davidson, North Carolina (Charlotte Area) USA
1969 280SL (USA-Spec)
Signal Red 568G w/Black Leather (Restored)
2023 Ford Maverick Lariat Hybrid "Area 51"
2023 Ford Escape Hybrid
2024 Ford Mustang Mach Ex PEV

joes

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Re: Welding MB Star in Grille
« Reply #8 on: September 16, 2009, 17:41:28 »
"Perhaps we should add this to the request for parts--that future iterations of this Star be made a quality product out of a quality material."

+1 great idea
71 280SL, auto, white-grey (158)/brown (138)
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ja17

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Re: Welding MB Star in Grille
« Reply #9 on: September 18, 2009, 22:46:25 »
Hello,

Yes, I too have done "mechanical" fixes on these stars like those above.  Seems to be the best option. Yiou can use an original to have a sandcast mold made  and cast new parts inexpensivelly out of brass or aluminum.  Some file work then sanding and polishing would be required before chrome.  The problem is brass or aluminum castings shrink after they cool, so the new part would be slightly smaller.  Probably about  .060" in diameter.
Joe Alexander
Blacklick, Ohio
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dseretakis

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Re: Welding MB Star in Grille
« Reply #10 on: September 19, 2009, 12:36:55 »
If the barrel is steel then one could fabricate the star out of steel sheetmetal and then weld it to the barrel.  The whole assembly could then be chromed