New Paint

[John C]

I plan to have my 1970 280SL painted this winter.  Since it has been in the family since 1971 and is a very sound (no rust, 66k orig. miles) car, I want to make sure it's done right.  Is there any place I can find "specifications" for doing a proper job?  By that I mean, type of paint, number of coats, preparation process, etc., so that I can know what to ask for (and sound somewhat knowledgeable) when pricing the job.  Thanks for any suggestions.

[mdsalemi]

Hi John,

Gee that's an easy one.  Today, there are many good paints out there but one of the best is one of the original brands used on MB cars, Glasurit.  If you contact some local body shops, or independent repair facilities for high-end cars like MB, BMW, Porsche, etc. a few names will come up.  Go check them out.

The kind of paint job you need depends an awful lot on what they start with.  Might need a simple deglossing (unlikely) or a strip to bare metal (also unlikely) so you need to bring the car around now, talk with several of the best body shops in your area.  If they do a quick "sand and shoot" job like Earl Schieb, stay away.  That's why you look for the kinds of cars that they do.

It costs.  The Glasurit paint material alone for a 113--two part paint, reducer, thinner etc. can run well over $1,000.  The labor would be considerably more.

Michael Salemi
1969 280SL
Signal Red w/Black Leather
Restored

[enochbell]

Just to add to Michael's suggestion, you may want to also have the engine bay done.  This will add another $1k or so, as the engine and harnesses, brake stuff et.al. will need to be removed to do it right.  But if you have a really nice, low mile car this might make you happy in the end.  The cost will certainly be justified, I wish I had taken the time to do it to mine when I had the repaint done.

Best,

g

'64 230sl, fully sorted out...ooops, spoke too soon

[John C]

Thanks for the replies---just what I was looking for.  I'm kind of stuck because I'm getting price quotes from $3500 to $9000 from different body shops to do essentially the same job.  Both are reputable high-end shops (Porsche, MB, RR, etc.) and both tell me they will take the same approach:  strip the car down, remove all chrome, rubber and windshield, etc., and examples of their work look great to me.  That's why I'm in a quandary:  am I being influenced by the "it-must-be-better-because-it-casts-more" syndrome to think that if I don't spend the most I'm doing a disservice to a great little car?  I don't expect an answer to the philosophical question;  just wondering if anyone has ever found themselves in this position. On an easier (I hope) note, is there someplace I can get a "kit" that contains all the rubber moulding pieces that usually get replaced in such a project, or do I have to assemble what I need piece by piece?  Who would I contact for this?  Thanks again.

[RBurg]

Recently saw a Black 280C 68 with repaint.It look original. They painted black and then spray with tinted black - this gave the look of older finish with use and durable of newer benifts of current technology.

Ron
71 280SL Tobacco "O GIGI"
97 E420 Silver Mist

[mdsalemi]

John,

Some of the price differences you'll see can be attributed, I'm sure, to the kind of paint they use.  Ask that question.  Also, the prevailing labor rate is important...beware of "lo-ball" figures.  For a real nice, high quality Glasurit paint job, $3,500 sounds a bit low.

As for the rubber, Miller's http://www.millermbz.com/ sells "kits" of various seals for the cars.  Mike Ochoa at Miller's can help you out.  Some parts I think are only available repro, and some people have some trouble with repro seals.  I replaced all my rubber seals with the Miller's kits, and did not have any issues.

Michael Salemi
1969 280SL
Signal Red w/Black Leather
Restored

[Khurram Darugar]

On the same lines (sort of).
Does anyone know what the premise is for degloss and repaint vs baremetal repaint assuming no rust issues are involved and body is good?  I've had mechanics (not painters)  give me equal advice on both.

Thanks in advance.
Kay
68 Euro LHD

[BHap]

John C - where are you located?  Maybe someone can give you a recommendation....

Bob Happe
Pittsburgh, Pa
1970 280SL, white/black 4 speed

[Vince Canepa]

Some things to keep in mind when repainting one of these cars:

1) The original enamel tends to crack (this applies to all M-B up to the time they switched to two-part urethane paints).  It would be very, very rare to find one that can be just "de-glossed" and repainted.  The cracking may not be readily apparent, but can only be seen under the right light conditions, but it is still there.

2) Removing all the chrome including the windshield and hardtop chrome is very time consuming (think $).

3) The top paints are the previously mentioned Glasurit, Sikkens and Spies Hecker.  The shop I use prefers Sikkens over Spies Hecker and Glasurit in that order.  The Sikkens levels better and looks absolutely stunning.

Vince Canepa
1967 250SL
113.043-10-001543
568H Signal Red
116 Caviar MB-Tex

[John C]

quote:Originally posted by BHap

John C - where are you located?  Maybe someone can give you a recommendation....

Bob Happe
Pittsburgh, Pa
1970 280SL, white/black 4 speed

[John C]

Sorry- I tried to reply to BHap's.
 question.
I'm located on the eastern end of Long Island, NY, which can often lead to  things being more expensive, to the point that some people ship cars out of state to be painted.  Not an option for me though.

[Khurram Darugar]

Thanks Vince!

[RBurg]

Was chatting with my restore of MB. He has come across the problem that it very difficult to match a spot that need to be resprayed with glasurit paint. In one case they had to a complete repaint. (A lot of waste of $ and time to make a 300sl perfect)

Ron
71 280SL Tobacco "O GIGI"
97 E420 Silver Mist

[Vince Canepa]

Touching up a small area is always tricky.  I don't think Glasurit would be any more difficult than any other paint, except for the fact that a 300SL could have nitrocellulose lacquer on it if original paint, or, it could have one of the old air dry enamels on it, and that would require a full panel, or more, to be painted.  The two-stage (base/clear) systems are more forgiving and blending has become the fix nowadays, with superior results.

Glasurit is an excellent product.  I use their products and find it very good to work with.  I used their 81-1240 Flat Black (semi-gloss really) for chassis parts in the past with stunning results.  It is no longer available and I had to go to an R-M product - a lot more difficult to shoot and get the results I want.

Vince Canepa
1967 250SL
113.043-10-001543
568H Signal Red
116 Caviar MB-Tex

[RBurg]

Vince

The 300Sl (silver)was painted 3 yrars ago. Need to fix mark on top of fender. Very trouble some
fix.
The repaint (balck) was about 10 years ago on 300sl where thye had to do the whole car over.

Ron
71 280SL Tobacco "O GIGI"
97 E420 Silver Mist

[George Des]

If you're really interested in exploring all the different paint options and understanding the pros and cons of each, there is an excellent website at <http://www.autobodystore.com/cgi-bin/config.pl?index> run by Len Stuart from New Jersey. Len is a big proponent of Glasurit products but many of the regular website posters have gobs of experiences to share with PPG, DuPont, Sikkens, R&M, etc. You'll find many discussions on various undercoating products, primers, surfacers, etc as well as the different types of spraying equipment--high pressure vs high volume--low pressure systems. There are great tips on how to color sand and buff out the latest finsihes such as BC/CC. I sent several years going through this site before i took on my own repaint--when I did, I was well armed with the info to do the right thing for my situation--a complete bare metal repaint using PPG epoxy primers, 2-part primer/sufacers, and Concept Single stage Acrylic Urethane. Sprayed with an HVLP system. The color sanding and buffing techniques Len explains takes care of most spraying errors. If you decide to do this job yourself be darn sure to heed the many health warnings discussed on the site. The new paint products while very durable and easy to work with are also extremely toxic and require special breathing equipment instead of the standard respirators--again these systems are described in many of the posts on the site. Good luck

george Des

[France]

Hi Guys,

I am ready to take off from snowy CH to sunny Sarasota and found this thread in my searches about paint.  Carling desperately needs new paint (OK, maybe she doesn't, but I do).  Now keep in mind that I bought this car on eBay (see two Pagoda World issues ago) and that she is only a 3 in quality.  Well, my Lord and Master says she is a 2, and we always argue about that.  She has all new interior, mostly new chrome, lots of non-original parts, and over 100K miles on her.  She is a daily driver (parking lots, dings, constant wear and tear).  I'm sure you picky guys would find a thousand things "wrong" with her, but I love her.  While I appreciate the experts on this forum for their incredible knowledge, a $10K paint job is simply not realistic for this car, as she will never be a 1. At least not in my lifetime.

Originally a blue car, she was repainted before, supposedly in Signal Red, then got caught in some kind of chemical spray that put shallow pits all the way across her boot and rear side panel.  She looks great from 10 feet away, but I'd still like to get her painted.

My dilemma is twofold:  1) Lord and Master says we should just do a quick $1000 paint job for the time being.  He is against taking all the chrome off, but is willing to remove some of it.  I want the more costly paint job but can't see putting a $5000 paint job on a $25,000 car.  2) The MB colors seem to have changed over the years--I find references on the Internet to 568 named both Signal Red and Hell rot.  My guess is that they are not the same and that a 1968 568 is different from say 2 years earlier or later...and why does Vince have an H after the number??  As I'm not considering painting the dash, I want to be sure that the old dash colour matches the new exterior.  

Sorry this is so long, but I want to "paint" a full picture.  Any advice greatly appreciated.

Trice
1968 280SL US, signal red/bl leather, auto, kinder
Sarasota FL; Alsace France

[Naj ✝︎]

Trice,
 

quote:She is a daily driver (parking lots, dings,

Dings like this?
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5505757870836195893&q=funny

naj

65 230SL
68 280SL

[Khurram Darugar]

John,
     If you are going to bare metal you may want to use a high zinc (not zinc phosphate) primer.  This is the next best thhing to galvanized metal and in the long term is probably worth it.  
Interzinc 72 is a real quality high build high zinc 2 pack primer.
You need  a low build non filler etch primer underneath.  
This primer is being used by a body shop where i had my wheels coated and the guy swore by it in terms of rust protection.  (Although its application is more industrial in design ... offshore rigs etc).  
It may be worth taking a look at.
Thats my two cents .... i mean pence
Kay

Kay
Euro 280sl LHD Auto.