Corrections needed?
Thread Starter
Member
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 178
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From: Orange County, CA
GLA250 4Matic, 911 Carrera S, R1250 GS Adv.
Corrections needed?
Two things that bother me on my 2 mo. old GLK:
1. When refueling I've noticed fuel dripping on the ground - not only when full and not every time.
2. The paint color on my Arctic White running boards is lighter than the body color (not as "ivory") - both sides. Are these painted and installed at the VPC, and even if so, why's the color poorly matched?
I suppose I'll mention these items to the dealer, but I wonder if other GLKers are experiencing the same things.
1. When refueling I've noticed fuel dripping on the ground - not only when full and not every time.
2. The paint color on my Arctic White running boards is lighter than the body color (not as "ivory") - both sides. Are these painted and installed at the VPC, and even if so, why's the color poorly matched?
I suppose I'll mention these items to the dealer, but I wonder if other GLKers are experiencing the same things.
Junior Member
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 17
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2010 glk 350
By running boards I'm assuming you mean the rocker mouldings. It's common for plastic parts to look off color next to metal pieces evern when they're painted at the same time, bumper covers often have the apperance of mis-matched paint.
Junior Member
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 31
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From: Southtown
2013 GLK350 4matic
Plastic parts are very hard to match because they aren't typically painted at the same time as the Welded Body in the factory. Painted parts like mirrors, moldings and side sills are painted by the suppliers. To get a perfect match ideally parts need to be painted at the same time with the same paint mix...
if it bothers you, get the dealer body shop to try to do a better match
if it bothers you, get the dealer body shop to try to do a better match
Junior Member
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 17
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2010 glk 350
That's not true I manage a very large collision center, we've painted bumpers etc trim in the booth with the vehicle and still had them not match, whites, silvers and tri-coats are even worse. The only true way to match is to do spray out cards and that dosen't always work. My paint team did 12 spray our cards on a pearl orange charger and still didn't please the customer we even had the Sikkens paint rep do additional cards 8 more I think before the customer was satisfied, we could still see a variation thought why? because of the different material. The only color that dosen't do that is black, Henry Ford was onto something, lol.
Junior Member
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 17
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2010 glk 350
The seperate pieces are painted at the factory just not on the car, like I wrote above it's the material your covering not the paint mix. Our shop is part of a huge GM Ford dealership group, and yes I drive a MB because if you saw what I saw... anyways I had the chance to see how the vehicles are painted, it's a huge process, trust me the paint isn't mixed for the bolt ons, they put through the cars and then some bumpers and mirrors etc. then more cars an so on, a lot of times the doors and hoods are paintedoff the vehicle too any they tend to match. That's all, it's not that it's not true just incorrect from what I've experienced. Maybe MB is different but I doubt it.
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Oct 2009
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Nissan GT-R BE / '12 Ducati-1199 Panigale S / '12 C300-4M Loaded/GLK350-4M Loaded
I'm a former spray man... flexi additive for the urethane/plastic bumpers, mirrors, spoilers etc. had a tendency to miss match the paint color as well, but it shouldn't be that much of an issue anymore, especially with Sikkens paint. Mercedes, Porsche, Audi etc. all spray their cars with the same mix/batch/lot run to maintain color consistency. Peal white is a nightmare, but your non-met white should not be getting lighter, yellowing, fading etc.
They do have a few coats of clear on top so they're very glossy. The fact that these panels are angled up towards the sky or even towards the white ceiling inside your garage could be the culprit! I've noticed that they do reflect the sky and/or ceiling which could give the impression that they look "lighter" in tone when they're really not. Check it out!
Damage does happen sometimes during transport and repairs are made by factory crews at port. Now if these panels were damaged during the trip here, it is possible that they were replaced with new parts but painted with a different paint lot number. (Somehow I don't think this is why you're having this issue though.)
Metal body panels, chassis and related metal parts are dip treated several times before the finishing coats are applied. These surfaces are far more superior for the finishing coats than the urethane/plastic surfaces will ever be, no matter how well they're prepped and primed. (As a matter of fact, I'm a little disappointed with some orange peel on the GLK, but that's another discussion.)
The point is, everything is only as good as its foundation. If the primer coat is rough, the finish coat is as well. If the primer coat is dark, it will affect the tone of the finish coat. If the paint lots are identical but the primer coats are not consistent, then the finish coats will be inconsistent as well.
There are many reasons why paint is tough to match ... but hey, it's a Mercedes... and it shouldn't be. Check the reflection theory. If they're still too light in color... have them replaced.
Good luck.
They do have a few coats of clear on top so they're very glossy. The fact that these panels are angled up towards the sky or even towards the white ceiling inside your garage could be the culprit! I've noticed that they do reflect the sky and/or ceiling which could give the impression that they look "lighter" in tone when they're really not. Check it out!
Damage does happen sometimes during transport and repairs are made by factory crews at port. Now if these panels were damaged during the trip here, it is possible that they were replaced with new parts but painted with a different paint lot number. (Somehow I don't think this is why you're having this issue though.)
Metal body panels, chassis and related metal parts are dip treated several times before the finishing coats are applied. These surfaces are far more superior for the finishing coats than the urethane/plastic surfaces will ever be, no matter how well they're prepped and primed. (As a matter of fact, I'm a little disappointed with some orange peel on the GLK, but that's another discussion.)
The point is, everything is only as good as its foundation. If the primer coat is rough, the finish coat is as well. If the primer coat is dark, it will affect the tone of the finish coat. If the paint lots are identical but the primer coats are not consistent, then the finish coats will be inconsistent as well.
There are many reasons why paint is tough to match ... but hey, it's a Mercedes... and it shouldn't be. Check the reflection theory. If they're still too light in color... have them replaced.
Good luck.
Last edited by MBRedux; Oct 9, 2009 at 02:01 AM.
