Most shops do use a bake out room to help harden the paint just after painting. I took a tour of a new state of the art body shop near me and got to see it.

Yes, this I have seen myself as the entire car is put in the baking room, but taking parts off to paint and bake them and then put them back on the car, is news to me...

not really sure what they did but something with baking

the body shop i used actually painted the panels after installing them on the car, i believe, but there's no overspray in the fenderwells...
mine's actually not an 040 black, it's the 197 obsidian black, which is still a bad combination when in conjunction with the LIE.
jimmydagreek, yah if I can keep the bugs, rocks, deer, racoons, and all of those away from the front end of my car, it should last for years to come!! LOL
crappy weather this afternoon didn't let me take pics, but will take them tomorrow!!

Looks great!

Congratulations on getting it back, didn't you miss it???

thanks!!

i definitely missed it!!! i realized how much I missed it when I smoked a new nissan maxima earlier tonight....the chump wanted to go for it off a stoplight.. i figured she's been sitting in the body shop for a month, why not rev it up and clean her out too bad i didn't have to even floor it to whoop his a$$.....

this picture didn't come out bad....

Looks great!

paomien - looks great, and while I am still in love with my black wagon, I am jealous of the clear lenses, front grill without the pits! Mine looks good, but I wouldn't mine having the small swirls, stone chips and pitted lenses/grills professionally restored.

OUCH!! Is right!! Good luck with the repairs.

thanks for the great comments!!
it really hasn't looked this good since I picked it up more than 4 1/2 years ago... been crappy weather in NY, so haven't been able to enjoy driving ....

Now all you need is some clear corner lights as those amber ones really stand out. That's just my opinion though. BTW, if you are handy in anyway, you should be able to install the MY00+ blinking mirrors yourself in just over an hour. I have step-by-step instructions including some pics. if you're interested. Let me know, later...J

I was actually thinking about the clear corner lenses, but i'm not sure where I can get a set ?
That would be great if you could email me a set of instructions how to install those blinking mirrors!!!
thanks!!!

Hi All,
Finally drove her out tonight, and was looking at the new xenon lights they installed on the car. Is it me, or do the newer xenons look more white in comparison to my original set? I remember the 98's and prior having more of a bluish tint to them, and the original ones that came on the car before this unfortunate incident were definitely bluish compared to these. Do you guys with MY00, 01, and 02 E classes have xenons that just look like super white PIAA's???
Thanks

Well, I can't say I know 100% but my right xenon bulb went out the other day and so I went to my buddie and MBZ Motors and told him I needed a lightbulb. He coincidentally had a set of xenon lights that he just pulled out of a wrecked car and gave me one. When I got home and pulled my car into the garage, I noticed that the light he swapped was a bit more blueish when the lights hit the white wall than the other older bulb. Maybe it's the different brands of light manufactured that will emit different colors? Anyone else have any input???

Different manufacturers have slightly different output kolour. Also, the amount the bulb has been used is also another crucial aspect to the kolour of the bulb. I remember when I was messing around with some H.I.D parts, I had a Philips and Osram bulb. The Philips looked prettier but the OSram was slightly more yellow and had a stronger beam pattern. Mind you both bulbs were tested in an Audi A6 projector housing.

you could be right... although they're just as bright on the road as the old ones, i do like the blueish tint to them. A silver 97 E420 was following me tonight which had xenons, and that blueish tint...mine really looked like super white PIAA's compared to them.... anybody have any answers??

Wow, those pictures were painful to look at. I'm from Long Island also. With 495, it seems like everyday there's something major going on that causes traffic to get jammed. Fires, overturned tractor trailers, rubbernecking from a fender bender on the side, you name it.

Glad that you have everything straightened out now though.

thanks...any highway on long island = misery ...
although the northern state is better, it's not better by much....

anybody have any input on the xenon lights?

... go to www.Xpel.com and purchase the clear vinyl headlamp covers. They do not impair lamp output at all and protect the lamps from getting pitted and rock damage. The kit includes already precut vinyl pieces for you low beams, high beams and fog lamps. It was like $50-60 shipped.

My $.02

Can you really tell that they're on your headlights though? You know, just in case someone sees them and says, "cool, I needed a set of those," and rips you off! I live in the LA area and when I have to park somewhere messed up when I go clubbin', if there is anything on my car that is not bolted down or protected by the alarm system, it will most likely be gone when I come out! I always just hope I can catch him in the act!

i heard about these xpel covers before, they supposedly work really well, i just hope they don't peel off!
still confused about the xenon color...haha ....

They won't peel of don't worry. I installed them on mine and they are fantastic!

Just be happy you have new xenons :-)

thanks! I already ordered them... how long does it take before I receive them? in the meantime I guess I should be avoiding highway driving and all so they're still nice and non-pitted when I put on the xpel....

It takes a few business days for them to come in.

To install them is easy but you must have the technique down. They tell you in the instructions to make a solution with a certain type of alchohol which you can find at WalMArt. Make sur eyou heat the Xpel cover and the lense with a heat gun. That why the cover is very pliable and easy to adhere.

Practice applying them. Set some reference point to follow so that when you remove the adhesive backing you will know exactly where to apply the cover.

When I applied them I started right at the top of the lense, held my thumb on that spot, grabbed the bottm edge then placed it, and then used the little squeegee to smooth it out for the sides..


Hope that helps!