When I bought my C it had some curb rash mainly on the right rear right and I would like to repair it. Instead of having it rediped I was thinking of using some type of putty and primer. I figured I could do this myself.

My only concern about the whole thing was whether or not the silver paint would match the original Mercedes wheel silver, as well as if the clearcoat will have the right amount of gloss (not too much not too little). Anyone have any experience with this? Is this a valid concern or does pretty much all silver wheel paint match? I just need to find the right paint.

Also, I assume in the factory they paint them very thickly and the coat is very strong, do you think the I would have any problems of cracking and chipping with a DIY paintjob?

 

I cannot see why with some effort the job will notcome up near perfect. Clean off the residue polish, a light sand on affected area, apply light coats of filler & finish sand with fine paper/wet & dry, apply undercoat , finish coat & clearcoat out of a pressure can.

(90% of the time they are covered with dust anyway!!)

 

Is definitely a DIY job if you spend the time/effort to do it right. Wurth silver is what you want to buy as it's factory match to German cars. I bought it from Autogeek IIRC...
Here's a great how-to article...
http://www.audiworld.com/tech/ext43.shtml

 

When the weather gets warm (which is now far off) I think I will begin this job. Thanks for the DIY and for the Wurth recommendation, after putting research into the paint it made me feel better as it is considered the "German Wheel silver" and is guaranteed to match Benz wheels as well as all the other Germans, that is exactly the solution I was hoping to find. However, it may be just me, but I just have a feeling the Porsche wheels in that DIY and in general are much more glossy than my Benz wheels, but if they say the Wurth clear coat is it, than that is what ill use.

 

Not all rim damage can be restored to new condition because the original finish cannot be duplicated outside the wheel factory.

I found this to be true when 'someone" at my dealer gouged my LF 18" wheel against something, curling a tiny amount of metal up. The dealer's usual wheel repair facility refused it and the "best shop in town" also said it could not be restored because of the anodized and clear coated rim edge.

The wheel was replaced.

 

Not sure how serious was the curb rash on your wheel; yet it might not be a bad idea to checking the wheel balance and making sure it is balanced.

Regards,