Jim Fitzgerald

Does anyone know if the wheel wells of a 1986 were painted as the body? While washing the car, I put a brush to the back side of the front wheel well and removed a lot of dirt to expose red. The surface is very rough - sort of like an undercoat.

Greg in Oz

Every model Mercedes I am aware of since the 1960s has been finished in body colour under the wheel arches. The rough texture is the thick stone protection that is applied before the final colour. I take great pride in keeping that body colour clean under the wheel arches on our cars. It certainly keeps me busy on the white ones.

Jim Fitzgerald

Thanks, its comforting to know that there is someone else in the world who looks at the wheel wells. Even if you are from the opposite side of the earth!

I've cleaned the rear wells, got ride of all dirt build up and they look good. Have you ever tried putting some type of coating here? I'm thinking about spraying a clear coat material over the paint to hopefully make it easier to keep clean.

Greg in Oz

I find that once you get it clean under the wheel arches it is not too hard to keep it clean. About every second wash I just hose under the arches. About every 4th wash I will do the bits that can be seen with the sponge. Once a year (before concours) all the wheels come off and inside the wheels and under the whole car (arches, floorpan and all suspension components) gets a chemical wash and pressure clean.

Fortunately, most of the roads I use are good. We have mild winters and don't have to deal with salt, snow, slush or permanently wet roads. The worst we get here are dirt roads (especially when wet), roadworks with wet roadbase (imagine wet cement dust) or roadworks with wet tar.

I have not added any extra coating in an attempt to assist in keeping the cars clean underneath.