dolvio

The chips are so small I wonder if I can even get paint into it.. I do like the spot painting idea better though...

J__

easiest way to tell if your trunk has been previously repainted is to look at the edge, if there is a 'edge' of clear coat/paint, then it's been repainted. If it's smooth all the way around to the underside, then it's factory paint.

there's no real 'risk' of repainting a car, only thing is depending if you find a good shop or not. Bad shops would have trouble color matching and might have orange peel. Good shops cost more.

Glyn M Ruck

Right hand rear bumper corner. I reversed into my builders van.

Easier to do on any vertical surface. Also had the left rear door done due to a stone from a weedeater & RHS front fender due to a stone thrown up by a truck. All spot repaired & you could see no sign the vehicle had been touched. One hour job!

This fender also spot repaired where the shoulder crease ends.

dolvio

I took the car to Mercedes today and they told me the trunk has had paint work done to it... They picked out a few things I could hardly notice and some orange peel, etc.. I couldn't tell. They said they can paint the whole panel where our badges are for about $350. See pic or what they can paint. They said it will look pretty good and I should be happy. I am also adding a lip spoiler as well.

The other option is I repaint the entire trunk deck/lid. This is about $550. I worry here about overall paint match and making a small thing into a huge project.

Any thoughts guys?

Adam

snowmuch

The chip was so minor I don't think it worth the $300-500 fix... Just a $20 Dr.colourchip will do the job

Glyn M Ruck

Why do they have to make it so hard. The Glasurit match will be perfect & you can just spot repair.

All dealers use guys that do paintless dent repair & spot touch up work for their used car lots. That's why cars in the used lot never have stone chips on the nose etc. All you need is one of these used car touch up "artists"

The cars come new with orange peel.

Glyn M Ruck

See video at Dent Magic Express SA for detail. These guys also offer a mobile service to dealers where they go to them.

http://www.dentmagicexpress.co.za/which-option

dolvio

Agree with you.. I actually know a gy who used to do the dealership cars for cheap. He has done many of my cars for peanuts compared to what a body shop would cost. I am going to see him tomorrow.

After I wet to Mercedes today I went to http://www.colorworks.ca/ to have them look at the car. They do the same as you are talking about and what the guy I am seeing tomorrow does. He was not so confident that a good finish would be to my satisfaction and he would still charge me a $150. He felt I should have Mercedes paint the entire trunk because he noticed a few things that were kind of shotty. I didn't even notice them to be honest.. I don't really want to paint the whole trunk as I worry about color match.

I just got this car and feel that a quick fix might not satisfy me. I want a finish to last me 5 years and done properly. Allows me to sleep easier I feel that if Mercedes does it.. it will be the best it can be.

Adam

AZN Optics

Greed.


Don't paint the whole lid. That's ridiculously overkill for that minor defect. Just do a spot repair.

dolvio

It appears the trunk was already painted and you can see overspray (runs) and it was done cheaply. I am likely not going to paint the whole thing as if that's what I have to do then I will just putthe badges back on... I am leaning towards having MB paint that part properly and maybe wetsand and polish the whole thing (I think they have to anyways) and put on the spoiler. The spoiler will actually hide where they are stopping the paint and blending if there is anything to show.

Glyn M Ruck

Dent Magic in SA would charge you approx $65 to fix your trunk lid as per the video. The Glasurit waterbased base coat/nano clear is what is on your car already if it is German or SA build.

dolvio

Unfortunately I don't live there and only have a few choices up here. I am listening to what you are saying though... The cheap places the dealers use up here are colourworks and save on paint. I remember spot repairs being $80 10 years ago. Today they are $150 it seems. I am a little torn what to do... The little stuff the paint guy pointed out today I never noticed. I never even noticed the paint runs on the trunk. And I am picky and spot everything!!!

Glyn M Ruck

Understood. Your labour costs are higher than ours etc.

dolvio

Seems like you have more options maybe reducing the cost of this repair... Kind of a shame for me up here. I am still trying to find someone to program my rear SAM if I was to upgrade to 2012 tailights.. no luck...!

snowmuch

I see you live in BC, I live in Alberta and I had to send my SAM to Seattle and back.

dolvio

Do they not do it at dealers up here?

Scat01

The Best do it yourself paint chip repair ever made - I use it on all my cars, steel grey, silver and black, it is really a great product.

dolvio

Okay, first off this is the coolest car shot ever..! We do not have this in Vancouver, British Columbia... We do hav the guys that do dentless paint removal, and the scratch/scuff fix, etc. Like I said I had a company look at it today. They recomended I paint the whole trunk lid... I just want the small chips gone and a spoiler on.

snowmuch

The dealership in Canada will not do it because they said it was illegal.

dolvio

Well its a liability thing.. if for some reason the tail lights fail.. liability. ..

CzchMex

First off your simple debadging has gotten to be very expensive. I know you're pissed but I promise you the moment you spend all that $$$ to get it fixed. Another scratch will appear. If at the worst way too...on your trunk. Initially you are pissed. But it's just a car. You are your own worst critic to spots, knicks, and scuffs. We see everything and the more we think about it the worse it gets.

So give this a thought. Give it some time to cool down in your head and you are no longer a pissed off owner. Use, to your judgement, the best spot paint fixer. If then you don't like it after a couple of weeks put the badges back on or repaint it. If it works. You have a debaged car and $300 to buy a different cool toy for your car.

Also a note: I have not seen the MB white in person but if there is no metallic in it then spot painting will not yield a different color. Metallic base paints and silver are the hardest to color match. How do I know? Try turning a red hood and grill into a white hood and grill without anyone ever knowing...because I pulled it off

Glyn M Ruck

Understood!

Good luck!

dolvio

Thanks for the response and you are very right. I am a perfectionist and this is challenging with my daily driver. Our rads here are often very beat up due to road construction and our drivers are not the best.

Upon more and more inspection of my tail end of the car... It appears there was damage that was fixed. None reported on CarFax. I notice the little things but the car is mine now and not much I can do about it. I am liklt to go the spot painting route through mercedes and call it a day. I have my spoiler to add now as well and it shoud help take away from any flaws on the back end. You are right though.. It's just a car... and my daily driver. This is my 19th car (I am 30 years old) and I have never been able to keep perfect. I bought a brand new TL in 2004 and a few months later I got a small hit. They could never match the pearl.. EVER! After spending 50 grand on that car and having that happen I almost gave up driving a nice car.

Thanks for your comments and I will see you around the site here.

CzchMex

Yea I'm a perfectionist too cursed by OCD. It sucks. Oddly I used to be so uptight about my cars and I've just learn to grow past it (I'm 30 too). Yes it sucks and I will eventually fix it. But if I manage to hold off for a couple of weeks I manage to curb the initial OCD kicking in. So that's my trick.

Best of luck fixing it up. I know you'll eventually fix it. Lol. We always do. Just never fix it while you are in the upset stage. That's where the money will be spent unwisely.

CzchMex

Oh and by the way...I just debadged my car and now I have the "C300" rings that I will have to figure a way to eliminate... Lol