SLK/R170: Interior Console Rubberized Finish Coming off
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Junior Member
Joined: Aug 2016
Posts: 24
Likes: 4
From: Danville, CA
1988 560 SL
Interior Console Rubberized Finish Coming off
1998 SLK 230 with red and black "Salsa" interior. It appears that the center console and dash are ABS plastic painted with a Rubberized paint. It is deteriorated and coming off.
I have patched it in the past but now it looks it needs to come apart and get repainted.
Does anyone have experience with recoating these pieces?
I have patched it in the past but now it looks it needs to come apart and get repainted.
Does anyone have experience with recoating these pieces?
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 1,187
Likes: 239
From: Santa Clara, Ca
2003 SL55 / 2002 SLK32
1998 SLK 230 with red and black "Salsa" interior. It appears that the center console and dash are ABS plastic painted with a Rubberized paint. It is deteriorated and coming off.
I have patched it in the past but now it looks it needs to come apart and get repainted.
Does anyone have experience with recoating these pieces?
I have patched it in the past but now it looks it needs to come apart and get repainted.
Does anyone have experience with recoating these pieces?
I have always used Vipond's "tautflex" http://www.viponds.com.au/tautflexbenz.htm
I have found that for my needs, applying it with a coarse terry clothe rag creates a texture that blends in perfectly with the surrounding texture. This material can be sprayed as well (if you feel that is how big your job is), but I am not convinced that you would end up with as uniform of a texture (Vipond's offers application suggestions I do believe).
If you look at the 2 pictures that I took during some upgrades in 2020 (particularly the lower console sitting un-installed off to the right in the first pic), you can see how poorly it started and how nicely it finished (using the terry cloth method).
notice how bad the paint was on the removed lower console section
impossible to see where the paint had been missing now
Hope that helps,
Chris
Junior Member
Joined: Oct 2019
Posts: 17
Likes: 6
From: Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
2001 Mercedes SLK230 & 2011 Mercedes GLK350
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 1,187
Likes: 239
From: Santa Clara, Ca
2003 SL55 / 2002 SLK32
Yes, it is keyless now. I installed an "easygaurd EC002" PKE (passive keyless entry) using a custom interface I made that allows the PKE fob to control the "smart top" functions (for remote open/close of top and windows).
in order to mount everything at the proper depth, I had to make 4 layers to add to the radio surround.
fits like factory, but 19mm shorter
Last edited by latemodel21; Mar 23, 2021 at 11:20 AM.
Junior Member
Joined: Dec 2019
Posts: 64
Likes: 6
From: Northeast Pa
2001 SLK 2017 Chevy Bolt, 2019 Subaru Crosstrek
I wiped my parts with brake cleaner, the old coating came off nicely with the cleaner, then I resprayed the parts with a spray bomb of the correct gray color I bought on the net.
The paint is called VLP they had the perfect match,(dark gray) I still have a few more pieces to redo, the refreshed passengers side parts I painted looks great.
I wiped the old paint off with brake cleaner, I use the house brand brake cleaner from Advanced auto, I always buy their brake cleaner when its on sale, because I use it on everything it cleans without leaving oils behind which makes it great for painting.
I use Brake cleaner when I clean parts,or paint because it washes away grease and oils from your skin.
The paint is called VLP they had the perfect match,(dark gray) I still have a few more pieces to redo, the refreshed passengers side parts I painted looks great.
I wiped the old paint off with brake cleaner, I use the house brand brake cleaner from Advanced auto, I always buy their brake cleaner when its on sale, because I use it on everything it cleans without leaving oils behind which makes it great for painting.
I use Brake cleaner when I clean parts,or paint because it washes away grease and oils from your skin.
