JWS3

Does anyone know when the nano paint made its way into the W211 E class? Also, to those who have experienced both, what are the "real world" differences & your observations.
Thanks in advance--

Jim

steph280

Yes. If your paint code has a letter "C" after it then it's nano paint.

I have less than 3000 miles on mine so I couldn't tell you the longivity of the paint. But it looks no different than other paint IMO.

hilmar2k

I have one of the first nano paint W211's. I think it's great. I have only one tiny rock mark on the top of th front fender, and that's after 38k miles. A friend of mine has an '02 M3 with 55k miles, and the front of his car looks like it was sand blasted by comparison. I have heard rocks hit the hood and sworn there would be damage, and to my amazement there's none. I wish my Yamaha R6 had nano paint.

JWS3

Interesting-- I need to see if I have nano paint--just need to find the paint code. (My E500 is a 5/04 build). Looks like you are just around the corner from me, btw- I'm in Lagrange! The Taconic & I84 can really beat the hell out of the front of a car.

MB Fanatic

If you have a May 2004 build date then you have Nano-Paint.

hilmar2k

You got that right! I take the Taconic north daily and I am amazed that I still have body panels! I plan to start pavethetaconic.org in an attemp to get it fixed. Of course, I'll get that done in my copious spare time.

By the way, with a 5/04 build, you should have nano paint. I have a 5/03 build date and nano. Stands to reason......

HELL ONA HARLEY

JWS3....
Your sure to have the "nano" paint with the build date as reported.... My build date was 2-04 and it has it.... I'm sorry to say, I really see no difference to reguards to paint chips as my car has them. Where I do see a BIG difference is in the over-all shine (gloss) of the cars finish between washings and waxings. All the reports I've ever read pertaining to nano paint or "cerami clear" as its really known as really never reported that the paint was designed to prevent "rock chips", but rather guard againt fine scratches and swirl marks. Obviously cars painted black will have the most to gain by this technology. I've also read that the paint is designed to help the car hold its original factory paint "shine" up to 40% longer than traditional finishes. I definatly see this to be true as I stated earlier.

JWS3

Then get one ASAP. I have a V1 and had it put in the day after I got the car! I just can't drive "naked" so to speak. Also, laser is becoming far more common It is often much more dangerous as it, unlike radar, targets specific cars. I've got a K40 diffuser plus which has worked very well, especially on darker cars. The darker the car, the better. Add a lightly tinted front plate cover (too dark & you get the wrong kind of notice from NY's roving revenue generators) to reduce the reflectivity and you should be OK. Its saved my butt a few times. If you are interested, let me know. I am VERY fussy about installs and I've used the same guy for years. Used to do it myself, but with kids and all.... you get the idea. Very good work, all wires hidden and reasonable cost.
Watch out for in around Beekman road in (+1/4 mile) in both directions -- its a favorite hangout for the local constabulary. As you head north, you get closer to the Millbrook barracks and, again, law enfarcement can be found.
Anyway, good to see another E owner in the area. After 4 BMWs I never thought I'd go this way, but so far so good.

Spartan

I had Nano paint on my '05 and it did not help when Mr. Rock met Mr. Hood. I had about three small dents I had to fill in and then I had a piece of wood pop up and do a bit of bending of the front end of the hood and the grill. So much for dent resistance.

So......

Does it make it shine better? I don't know. I Zeno wax pretty often and it was hard to tell the difference. Where we could look to see if there is any difference is on black cars. Then again, I have seen people wash their Benzes in self-wash car washes. That is a GREAT place to test paint scrathing resistance.

~~~~~~~~~~

BTW, I caught the tail end of a news report and it said something to the effect that nano paint was as dangerous as asbestos when applying it or sanding it. I did not mention that before because I was hoping to see the entire report again before writing a thread. Did anyone elae see it?

CALBenzo

So far, I think it is great. My build date is March 04. I only have 5000 miles so far, but only one small chip. In fact, I washed my car this weekend, and noticed that my grill has more rock hit marks in it than the front of the car having chips.

Barry45RPM

My Build Date was 11/03 D1 & it has Nano.

SAguirre

Nano paint is great for dark colored cars that tend to show swirl marks. Otherwise, it is unrealistic to expect the clear coat to withstand rock chips from larger size stones.

If your have a W211 4-Match, then you do NOT have Nano paint. This is because the body of the car is built in Stuttgart and then shipped to Austria for painting and assembly. That plant does not have nano tech.

As far as the paint code, the C is at the front of the paint code. That is what I have seen. I personally have a white W211 and white does not tend to swirl so I really don't wish I had it. Also, when my car was two months old, so nice guy keyed two panels of my car. The MB body shop said that since my car did not have the nano paint, the repaint would be exact. They were right! I have taken it as far as measuring the thickness of the paint and clear coat on the parts that were painted and they are within 3% of the factory paint thickness. Not to mention the orange peel and the color is a perfect match under any kind of light.

So, if you have nano paint, they can do a similar treatment, but it will not be the same.

Steve

glojo

The official release date was Jan 04, but I have heard of vehicles manufactured in September and October 03 that have it. Likewise though some of them haven't.

We had a 210 for two years and the front of the vehicle had dozens of little chips from various contacts with low flying stones. The 211 is just over 15 months old and so far we have found just one! Same roads, same driving conditions. Obviously bigger stones will damage the paint but it is a vast improvement on the previous Mercedes-Benz paint.

John

steph280

Here is an interesting article regarding the "hard" clearcoat on American cars vs the "soft" clearcoat on German cars. Apparently the nano paint is the first attempt of hard clearcoat by the Germans.

LINK TO ARTICLE

glojo

Hi Steph,
Do you know if US car manufacturers still use cellulose based paints? This paint is no longer used in Europe.

Regards,
John

steph280

I don't know. But I did notice many new car owners are complaining about paint getting easier to chip compared to the older cars. I know certain type of paints are no longer legal for sale in the US (laquer or acrylic, forgot) due to environmental reason. Car manufacturers claim to have switched to water based paint which are "weaker" than the good old oil based stuff. Not sure if that's the cellulose paint you mentioned.

Our baby hauler is a Toyota Sienna van which is assembled in the US. To prevent chipping Toyota actually apply 3M clear guard tapes on certain location such as behind each wheel. They have never done this in older cars we've owned, so I would assume they know the new paint are "weaker".

glojo

That is certainly how it is over here, modern car paints are terrible. The nano technology on the 211 is simply getting things back to some sort of sanity.

John