lkirchner

I have a small paint chip on the front air dam on my SL55. Is anyone aware of a chip repair specialist in Sacramento, CA? I got a quote from someone yesterday to repair it at a price of $300. That seems high for a chip that is about 1/8 of an inch.

Thanks,

Lou

TOGWT

Paint chip repair (Sal Zaino’s method):
Here's a fix for the chips. Take isopropyl alcohol on a q-tip and dab in only in the rock chip or scratch a few times. Take a clean towel and dry chip. Take a match out of a matchbook. Use the opposite end of the head. Dab this in touch-up paint. (Do not thin out touch-up paint) Very carefully dab a very, very minute amount in the chip. Do not get any paint anywhere other then the chip depression.

The trick here is not to try to fix the chip in one application. Do this every day until the paint in the chip is even with the rest of the paint surface. If you do this correctly, you will hardly notice that chip repair and the colour will match.
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show...45&forum_id=10

lkirchner

I have already done that and am not pleased with the results. Thanks for your response.

PynkFloydd

Warning: if you're not careful, there is potential to really mess up your paint. Use caution and practice on a much less expensive surface first (hopefully a Yugo).

I worked finance/sales at a dealership for a good amount of years and had to constantly get cars touched up. I was friendly with the detail/quick fix guys and learned a little bit to keep my cars looking good. I had a friend use this method on my MV Agusta and watched some deep scratches disappear (tougher on fiberglass panels). I personally recently practiced this method on a non-Benz car and had great results.

This is probably the actual method that the body shop would touch up and fix your car. I would definitely not try this method for the first time on nicer car.

First acquire the proper touch up paint for you car. Match a spot of it or mark a patch somewhere (on paper or something) and check for color match. Metalic paints are hard to match and might not be 100% perfect. Silver is also a very difficult color to match.

Once color match is found, dab paint into the knick or scratch. You need to build up the paint to become higher than the clear coat on your car. A few coats will probably be necessary.

Here comes the painful part... Go to Murray's Auto Supply or whatever is best for you and get some 1000 grit auto sandpaper. Make sure it's made for wet sanding of auto paint. I used Macquire's detail spray with it...but the guys at the shop actually used Windex. Anyways, spray the area that you just touched-up and gently sand the touch up to even out with the paint. Yes, this will scratch the paint. Don't use too rough of a sandpaper or press too hard as this will dig into the clear coat. Also, make sure that you use plently of liquid to lubricate the area you are wet sanding. All you basically want to do is layer the touch up paint until it fills the chip/scratch in completely after it is dry. This will probably leave a little bit of a overfill of touch up around the chip/scratch and that's why you're evening out the surface.

At this point, you're going to end up with an ugly and scratched up/dull area. You will need a high-speed buffer. This is probably the most important part. I like to use a medium cutting compound and wool pad on the spot to even out any scratches. Make sure you don't use the buffer to even out the paint or this will probably burn the clearcoat off around that area. You are just using the buffer to bring back the shine. Probably best to read a post or good article on buffing and what not to do. Next, I use a foam pad and glaze and bring a high shine to the area.

At this point, your chip or scratch should be really, really difficult to notice...if not pretty much invisible. The larger the area...the more difficult it is to hide. I actually just used this method on an old Chevy Blazer that had a 4-5 foot key mark from front to back on the driver's side. Even though you can still notice it slightly in the light (touch up is actually a slight shade darker...it's a Blazer...didn't really care), it's amazing how hard it is to find. This was actually a key mark that ran along the whole side that went down to bare metal and was about a quarter of an inch wide.

Some tips...
practice buffing first on an old car!
always have the buffer moving...never hold the buffer over a spot!
compare paint while dry as it may darker or lighten upon final inspection

To help you judge if you want to have a pro do it, I'll include prices of materials.

Used Milwaukee 5460 variable speed buffer with wool pad = little under $100 with shipping on eBay

Auto wet sanding paper = $3.99 at Murray's Auto Supply

Foam pad and buffer velcro attachment = $25

Glaze and compound = $20

Maquire's Detail Spray Wax = $5 (from what I remember...I haven't bought this in a while)

The good part...after you spend the money, you can always use the buffer every few months to bring back that new car shine. I would just recommend using a wax, instead of compound to buff as that won't cut into the paint. A foam pad is usually safer on clear coats also. If you are scared to wet sand, you could always just try dabbing paint and then lightly buff. It'll probably look a bit better than right now but it'll be hard to get the paint level with the clear coat. Do not use the buffer to even out the paint! It will eat the clear coat before wet sanding ever will!

I hope this helps. If anything, this will make you see if it is worth going to a pro. Also, you could try asking your service writer if they know someone in detail to do it (hopefully that's been there for many years). They might either know a pro in the body shop or just a great detailer that can wet sand and buff well. I'd say that you could probably get away with tossing $40-$75 at the guy in detail for the job and he'd be more than happy.

--George

lkirchner

George,

Thanks for your input. I already have the buffer and all of the other required supplies. I'm going to give it a shot today.

Thanks again,

Lou

PynkFloydd

Lou,

No problem! I'm feeling brave now so I'm going to order touch up paint for my CLK. I bet Mercedes has some defect in the paint since it seems to chip so easily. I had a Porsche Boxster for a few years and didn't notice any chips on the paint. Another theory...Mercedes might be cheap on the amount of layers they put on the vehicle. I remember watching a Porsche video on their web site that showed they put like 3+ coats of paint and then about 5+ coats of clearcoat. So just be careful not to use too harsh of a grit of sandpaper and don't press too hard while sanding or buffing. The buffer should gloss up all of the sandpaper marks nicely. If you use a harsh grit of a sandpaper, you might get deep grooves in the clearcoat that will be hard to buff out. Let me know how you like the results! Body shops will usually do this same method or instead of dabbing touch-up, they'll airbrush it on instead and then buff. Hope this brings back the showroom quality of your car.

--George

Sydney Benz

Hi Lou,

I have used Langka with very good success on my CLK. Useful web page.

www.lankga.com

Sydney Benz

Of course it would help if I gave the right web address......


www.langka.com

Nickc0844

This is an excellent product of which I've had great success with in the past. It's not too tideous either. I've also engaged in wetsanding (I apprenticed at an autobody shop), but with only a few blobs, Lanka is the way to go.

Good luck.

Frankster

I've also used the product with good success.

honest_mechanic

I have also tried this product and it is very good and its price is suitable to any budget.