cookstar

For anyone contemplating purchasing any Mercedes with the Diamond white paint, or now known as Designo Diamond white I would suggest you not to do it. About a month ago my dealer hit the underside of the rear bumper on something and cracked it in several places. The car has been in and out of the MB collision shop and has now had the bumper replaced 3 times. It looks like matching the rest of the cars colour is near impossible, it is either too yellow or too white. In comparison we had a 2008 GL light grey which got hit by a car running a red light and that ones bumper was 100% matched to the rest of the paint. From what I have been told the Diamond paint is a 3 step process while the rest of the paint colours are usually a one step. My collision centre has guaranteed the job and says that the paint will blend in with the rest of the car after the UV rays hit it for a month or two (another member here was told the same thing). Any thoughts?

Anyway a bit of a rant but thought I should share. I have now added white to the list of colours to never get on a car, its even worse than black as rail dust gets into it and you have to clay bar it every 1 or 2 months, I pretty much gave up on cleaning my other white car that doesn't have paint protection warranty.

fabbrisd1

Sorry about your mishap -

Yes - metallic Diamond White - designo Diamond White - as a Mercedes metallic requires more process - on other MB metallics - but on DW - 5 - repeat 5 process.

My guys/our shop - and yes US Mercedes Certified - do this job (or even matte) readily with no 2nd/3rd bounce.

I have positively no comment on what the shop had to say about the "30 day UV cure"..

Ah_gl450

Any pearl white is a pain to match after few years, whether it's a Toyota or a Mercedes.

When I had my x164, and I took it to a Mercedes shop to get a small hit on my rear bumper fixed, they said they were going to take of the taillights and the trim on the bumper and tailgate, and paint from the rear doors back to properly blend it in.

Perhaps they need to blend in the quarter panel and tailgate?

JimBarnhart

Thanks Cookstar, Diamond white has been on my short list of colors (after Obsidian and black) and your experience will put Steel Gray ahead of it now.

jbattan

My SL is DW, and my GL is Polar White (non-metallic), and I much prefer Polar. I think my SL has a repainted front quarter panel (I bought it used), because it looks slightly off-color from the rest of the car. You can't tell unless you're looking for it. I ordered my 2015 SL in Polar White. I would have loved to get black, but can't stand how messed up it gets after driving off the showroom floor.

bigigg

I think the problem occurs when applying the "pearl/metallic".. it basically goes over the white base coat, if you apply too much or too little that's what gives you the difference and not matching. Too little makes it look more white, too much gives it a cream/off white look.

wamochi

yes it's the curse of the pearl paint. keep in mind also that the application of pearl white on metal body vs. plastic bumper will look different close up.

i had a very minor mishap on my pearl white lexus front bumper. it did require sanding and painting/blending. when it was all said and done, i cannot tell anything ever happened. you can't see where the gouges were. THAT SAID, the pearl white on the front bumper where it meets the metal fender are slightly different. i didn't even know that was the case when i got the car; i never bothered looking that closely before.

then i realized if you look at the rear bumper (plastic) where it meets the rear fender, same thing. there is a SLIGHT variation in the shimmer and brightness on plastic vs. metal. again, nothing you can notice from a distance.

i had my repair done by a mobile repair guy who did some work for me on a Cayenne GTS when i had some minor damage to the tailgate. i was very satisfied and again could not tell anything ever happened.

wamochi

P.S. we are replacing the lexus next month with a Tesla and will be going with Pearl White again on the new car.

we were torn over whether to go with flat white vs. pearl ($1500 upcharge), especially since repairs are expensive, but the Pearl was nicer in person, even though to the regular passerby you probably wouldn't notice a difference on a sunny day. it's the price you pay for a color you love

cookstar

I am not satisfied with the paint job but they told me to take it back whenever if the U.V doesent fix it... I find this hard to believe but someone in the States was told the same thing so maybe there is some truth to it. Regardless white paint is a pain, will stick to grey next time.

cookstar

Which battery pack are you getting?

ymmv

Be wary of "blending" -- this is a nonsense process for multi-step paints. The (incompetent) shop will attempt to buff and polish the adjacent surfaces to fade the emphasis of the contrast between original and repaired surfaces. It's a no-go. Ask any Lamborghini owner with one of the more exotic paints -- there's no such thing as repairing -- you either get the multi-step process done in a professional booth (hot rods, vintage shops) or you get a contrast.

cookstar

I dont know... at this point I am tired of driving 30 mins each way for a new bumper and than waiting a week each time. as Long as its under warranty I will live with it.

wamochi

the 60, fairly loaded otherwise (about 87k). we contemplated going with a diesel this time since most of our hybrid driving has been highway, but we installed solar in Nov 2013 and are producing more than we expected so we thought an EV was a better choice.

the GL is staying in the family and will be our road trip and family hauler for the most part. the Tesla is disappointing in terms of creature comforts like rear sunshades, rear AC controls, massaging seats, blind spot, lane departure, etc. etc. so we don't anticipate using the new car for any long trips. in fact, the lexus has never left san diego county in the three years lease term.

SFWolf13

I just ran into the same issue from this thread. Had the front bumper replaced, the repair shop, who specialized in MB repair did a nice job, but when we said there is a color difference, he just said it is because it is plastic instead of metal. Which made no sense because they look great new. Do you mind if i ask what the 5 processes are? as he stated they did 3.

Whodini

I too want to know the difference between the 5 stage and 3 stage MB Diamond White paint jobs.

Are we certain that there are 5 stages? Most people are saying that there are 3 stages.