AAY

Hi

I have a 2015 Mercedes-Benz S550 Color Code 890U/5890 and would like to repaint the whole vehicle. The paint is not in a bad condition but it has an orange peel and the two panels were repainted and I didn't like the job.

So I'm planning to have a professional workshop do the job for me, but I will supply the paint. According to my research, Spies Hecker and Glasurit are the OEM paint providers for the S-Class.

I Just want to get the best result matching or exceeding the OEM paint.


I would appreciate your help in the following:

• Where can I purchase the paint?
• Which type of paint should I get? I see "clear coat", "base coat", "waterbased" and I'm not familiar with those
• What quantity would be required for the whole car?

Thank you in advance.

chassis

Why isn’t your professional paint shop doing these things? What is the reason you are providing the paint?

Streamliner

The finish on a repainted car may look better than the original, right after it is completed, but in most all cases, it will not endure like a factory applied finish. This is especially true on the leading edges and areas susceptible to stone chips. If a stone nick puts a 1/16th inch chip in the original paint, that same impact will most likely take a 1/4” chip out of a repaint. These stunningly gorgeous, restored finishes we see in the collector car auctions will only stay looking that way if the vehicles are never subjected to the elements a daily driver is subjected to and are constantly pampered, never left outdoors overnight, rarely left to bake in the sun, etc. I absolutely, positively, would not want a repainted car, if I could possibly help it.

MTrauman

I am not sure what part of the world you are in but supplying your own paint is a bit odd in the US (atleast from my experience).

If you don't know the different types of paint are you really able to do what you want to do and have a successful outcome?

DaveW68

ALL MB factory paints have orange peel. That is just the way they come from the factory.

If the color match was good on the 2 resprayed panels, and your goal is to flatten and get rid of the orange peel from the factory paint, then by far the better and much cheaper method would be to have the entire car wet sanded, compounded, and polished until the orange peel is gone. Then have a professional grade ceramic coating put over the top of it all.

bmwpowere36m3

Agree, find a proper shop... paintwork is all about prep, good materials are important too, but 95% of the work is in the prep. PPG, Dupont, BASF, Glasurit, Valspar, Matrix, Sikkens, SPI... there's a lot of good paint out there. Also consider each manufacture has "grades" within there product lines.

We used Sikkens at the shop, its what we picked and learned to use.

jbarhorst

While there are some good products out there, most aftermarket paint products won't give you the performance experienced from the original factory paint job.
In general, environmental contaminants, impacts from debris, and weathering will all deteriorate your repaint more quickly or severely than the original paint job.
If you are looking for a short term solution, this may be the path you wish to take - but I would not do this to a car you intend to keep for more than 4 or 5 years - unless you want to repaint again later.
Paint correction - the process of sanding out the orange peel and re-polishing to a glossy surface as well as fixing any other current defects - may be a better path for you.
There are hazards to this as well. Reducing the thickness of the clearcoat layer will also reduce the overall UV protection of your paint.
Most, but not all, of the UV blockers in OEM paint are contained in the clear. You may want to consider adding additional protection after the correction. Perhaps paint protection film with UV protection built in.
Think about your goal before you choose your path.

Jud Chapin

This is true as with most new cars today. If it's bothersome, the "peel" can be wet sanded and buffed out.

bmwpowere36m3

Issue with blocking the clear, is today they put so little on... you risk sanding true. Besides the more you remove, the less protection is left behind.

I would only do that on a respray knowing I put down enough material to remove. Leave that to to show car guys....

Correct the paint thru compound/polishing and call it day. Just a Mercedes daily driver, not a duesenberg.

Jud Chapin

Yes, you are right. Not a job for a diy’er.

chassis

Some great input on this thread. I have wondered about paint correction and this thread helped me decide against it based on losing some of the factory UV protection. I attempt to keep cars as long as possible.

Agree with @DaveW68 that MBs come with orange peel from the factory. My W166 has its share of it.

SW20S

Paint correction wont reduce the lifespan of the paint as long as you aren't doing it all the time.

DaveW68

Agreed....as long as it's done properly and you aren't "digging" too deep to get out deep scratches. Also, adding a professional ceramic coating to the corrected paint adds a new level of UV protection.

Sumfuncomet

As someone who used to build and sell street rods and prewar Buick Olds Pontiacs for many years and having been involved in paying for those paint jobs, it is unheard for a customer to supply paint materials. Any quality shop I know of would refuse the job if they didn’t have control of the job from start to finish.
Good advice here about paint correction, an expert will make fair paint really pop! If it makes it to Carfax that the car was repainted.......you WILL take a hit on resale

MBNUT1

I was actually shocked at the amount of orange peel I saw on some brand new cars on the Mercedes lot.

SW20S

Having just come from Lexus to Mercedes, Lexus does paint way better. The finish on my LS460s was much smoother and richer than the finish on my S560. Much more orange peel on the Mercedes.

MBNUT1

I mean honestly when I was a kid, guys I knew would have been embarrassed to produce paint jobs that had as much orange peel as what I saw on some new Mercedes.

Mitch Alsup

If you are going to repaint the whole car--pick a color that is better than available through Mercedes Benz.

Me, personally, I would lay down a gold primer and cover the car with 6 coats of candy apple with Perl flakes in the candy.

Finally the whole car would be wet sanded and buffed to perfection.

As someone around here said a while back :: "That's a whole lota red"

MBS63AMG

Back in 2006, I noticed the orange peel on many new cars including the CL models and up. I owned a Volkswagen W12 and the paint jobs from the VW/Bentley groups had paint jobs that were pristine, no orange peel at all.

as.thompson

I have found the discussion about orange peel on MBZ paint jobs interesting because i have had very smooth paint jobs over the years.

'75 SLC, '86 300E, '94 SL320, '06 CL500, '16 S550C4 all smooth and free of orange peel.

hyperion667

How long do you plan on keeping the car? Have you considered a wrap,instead of paint? Maybe someone said that already but I did not read all the comments

DABRONX

I agree with the wrap but if you have damages you still have to repair first. Wraps really are the finish of the future and I wouldnt be surprised if manufacturers start selling wrapped cars. Repairs would be so easy as a bolt on bolt off deal like Saturn was only having the ability to add the color.

Orange peel is actually a benefit in a daily used car as once it is removed and the paint perfected it takes a tremendous amount of work to keep it to that level as every flaw shows.

Any car dealer will tel you that 90% of teh used cars they sell have at least repainted bumpers. Technology has advanced where repaints are equal if not better than wha the factory offers. Of course there are a lot of variables dependent on who does the repair and with what products.

Most Mfg's use more of an electrostatic type spray vs a wet spray gun type technique so yes peopel that say it will never be the same are also correct as it is impossible to replicate that in a body shop environment 100%.

MichaelinChicag

I've had 4 MBs over the years and not one of them had any orange peel at all. I'm a freak about their maintenance and do a lot of the polishing and coating applications myself, so I would have noticed if any of them had that issue.

The Thomas J

Paint correction wasn't an option?

Streamliner

Ah, for the virtues of LIGHT colors that hide imperfections so incredibly well. Silvers, whites, etc. As a “glass half empty” type myself, dealing with darker colors that show every little thing is just too much trouble.