jac1502

A few months after I bought my 06 I hit something and need to have my hood, bumper and fender painted. Now after almost two years my clear coat is noticeably different. I know the shop that painted the car (now!) can not do nano clear like the factory but is the clear coat they used just cheap or should my insurance company took my car to a place that could paint nano clear if one exists?

dnegri

Generally, insurance companies will find the cheapest way possible to have your car repaired. The bodyshop that you took it to probably used the standard clear like they use on most vehicles out there. Typically, you won't see a difference between regular clear and MB's ceramic clearcoat. It's the hardness of the clear (harder to occur fine scratches) that will tell the difference.
What's noticably different if you don't mind me asking?

jac1502

Mainly how easily I can get swirl marks and it also seems to have a color depth issue in certain lighting conditions. I have a ton of rock chips also, but I don’t know I can completely blame the clear for that. It is frustrating especially considering the car has 25,000 miles is garage kept and is not driven in the rain. I am also seeing some what another body shop referred to as “pin head bubbles” on the front bumper.

dnegri

Pinhead bubbles=poorly prepped paint surface.

SWirls=typical clearcoat or even bad washing habits which is noticably higher on black cars.

Also, black is a hard color to blend.....believe it or not. It's possible that the depth issue is the case of a different shade of black compared to the rest of the car.

jac1502

Its just amazing the differnece in swirls from the nano panels to the new painted surfaces. I am careful when i wash but the new panels are insanely easy to scratch.

So here is a new issue. My insurance is most likely going to cover the repair.

I have a smaller shop that does good work and who I feel will take the time for prep work and is also not very expensive and will fix a few other things when the do the front panel

or do I push to have a high end mercedes certified shop do the work.

Can nano clear from the factory even be duplicated or is good clear equal

Benzben

Anytime I've dealt with body work on an insurance claim, the body shop and/or the insurance company have guaranteed the repairs for the life of the car. I'm not sure how far this supposed "guarantee" goes, and what exactly are the terms and conditions. Basically, to me it seems like if they negligently repair your car (which it seems like they've done in this case), then they will take care of it. That's probably what's happened here.

I would contact MB and ask for a list (or maybe just the one) body shop is an MB factory authorized body shop. (Generally, even MB dealerships don't have their own body shops--they just send out any body work to the local factory authorized shop.) The one I've taken my car to here in KC (www.evelandbros.com) is factory authorized for most of the high-end/luxury auto manufacturers. They've done great work on luxury cars for years. There should be a similar shop somewhere in your area.

dnegri

+1 totally agree

acr2001

You need to make it clear to the monkeys at your insurance company that you pay to insure a Benz and that includes the ceramic clear coat it comes with. It's a simple as that.

jac1502

I am fairly certain the insurance company will cover the repair, but now my concern is can the nano clear be duplicated at other shops since it is baked on at such a high temp or is a high end clear my only real option?