126 SEC - Rust and respray question

[tdazzz]

Hi all,

I have an SEC that is painted in Smoke Silver (I believe the code is 702).

Since I have owned it it has acquired a couple of minor small dents and some rust is bubbling up around the wheel arches.

My question is: would this particular shade (Smoke Silver) be a tricky one to match to if I took it to a body shop? Given the age of the existing paint would it also be hard to match the colour with a partial respray?

To be honest I don't know what the usual process would be to fix up these bits of bodywork - any words of advice much appreciated.

If anyone can recommend a good place in the London / Kent area that would be great as well!

Many thanks!

 

[DSM10000]

A good bodyshop should be able to scan the existing paint and mix up a colour match and then blend in new and old when spraying but silver is one of the most difficult colours to get a good match between old and new.

I would talk to a few local bodyshops, get a feel for how they respond and what they suggest.

 

[tdazzz]

A good bodyshop should be able to scan the existing paint and mix up a colour match and then blend in new and old when spraying but silver is one of the most difficult colours to get a good match between old and new.

I would talk to a few local bodyshops, get a feel for how they respond and what they suggest.

Ah interesting, I wasn't aware that silver was a difficult one to match in general. Good to know, thanks!

 

[Petrol Pete]

Good luck with getting anyone to match any type of 'silver' colour...I have 3 silver cars Quite a while back I made some tentative enquiries regarding the rust issues and other blemishes on my 'Iridium silver' C55 AMG , no one I spoke too would commit to guaranteeing a decent match on a 17 year old silver car.

 

[BTB 500]

Hi all,

I have an SEC that is painted in Smoke Silver (I believe the code is 702).

Since I have owned it it has acquired a couple of minor small dents and some rust is bubbling up around the wheel arches.

As I understand it the main problem area with those is the parcel shelf around the bottom of the rear screen. I would check that very carefully (inside and out) before going ahead with any paintwork, although I think the repair can be quite substantial if you do have any hidden rot there.

I've also been told that matching silver paint on older cars is nigh on impossible (I have a silver SL).

 

[tdazzz]

As I understand it the main problem area with those is the parcel shelf around the bottom of the rear screen. I would check that very carefully (inside and out) before going ahead with any paintwork, although I think the repair can be quite substantial if you do have any hidden rot there.

I've also been told that matching silver paint on older cars is nigh on impossible (I have a silver SL).

Yes, thats another area where there could well be rust lurking - the rear screen is fogging / delaminating at the edges now which is a bit of a worry.

I'm weighing up how much it may cost to get everything sorted vs. living with the rough bits...

 

[ALFAitalia]

Any decent body shop should be able match any paint these days... even old faded paint. A cracking job was done on my wife's silver 99 SLK...perfect match. A good place will only use the paint mixing code as a starting point..... the final mix will be confirmed by an expensive paint matching scanner called a spectrophotometer.

 

[Petrol Pete]

ALFA . Your point is a good one well made .

My gut feeling is a lot of 'paint shops' would rather just take the money for run of the mill accident repair paint jobs rather than get involved in a mix and match (repeat until correct) spray job on some fussy bugger$ 20 year old pride and joy.

 

[GP801]

If you fancy trip into Essex give these a try Car Body Repair | Kraftwork Vehicle Refinishing | Chelmsford. They did a superb job on our son's silver 1999 V70. Cant tell it has been repaired at all.

 

[Smiley]

You only have to look through the ads of cars for sale to see many cars with mismatched panels, the light metallics are the worst - varying from a very slight shade difference through to a completely different colour. My guess is that dark colours are equally difficult but our eyes don't pick up on small variations in dark colours like they do with lighter ones...just my guess.

 

[SpikyMikey]

You only have to look through the ads of cars for sale to see many cars with mismatched panels, the light metallics are the worst - varying from a very slight shade difference through to a completely different colour. My guess is that dark colours are equally difficult but our eyes don't pick up on small variations in dark colours like they do with lighter ones...just my guess.

Could be; my old dark red Cavalier was rear ended and repaired. The paint job was superb, you really couldn't see the difference in daylight.
Under street lighting though, it was immediately obvious where the new paint was.

 

[ALFAitalia]

With silver and metallic red colours the bumpers rarely perfectly match the the rest of the car even when brand new.

 

[ChipChop]

Seem to recall smoke silver is more gold than silver. Does gold present as many headaches for blending as silver?

 

[grober]

If the SEC paint is original it will be solvent based-todays paint is water based- unless the rust is very unsightly EXTENSIVE it might be best to live with it- with DIY AD HOC REPAIRS to keep it in check--- wheel arch rust can rarely permanently eliminated--especially the rear wheel arches which are double skinned- make sure to eliminate any secondary sources to revent rust returning before splashing out a load of cash. As stated paint supply shops will mix up a close match in aerosol cans for diy WHEEL ARCH REPAIR using colour match swatches-always view/compare in good outdoor light.. The original paint would have been GLASURIT.

Classic Car Colors

As paint experts with more than 130 years of experience under our belts, we can advise and support you in all aspects of vintage colors and paintwork. We offer you professional support with our Glasurit Classic Car Colors service, where you will find tips on how to achieve first-class classic...

www.glasurit.com

 

[tdazzz]

Seem to recall smoke silver is more gold than silver. Does gold present as many headaches for blending as silver?

Exactly - to me it looks more gold than silver!

 

[tdazzz]

If the SEC paint is original it will be solvent based-todays paint is water based- unless the rust is very unsightly EXTENSIVE it might be best to live with it- with DIY AD HOC REPAIRS to keep it in check--- wheel arch rust can rarely permanently eliminated--especially the rear wheel arches which are double skinned- make sure to eliminate any secondary sources to revent rust returning before splashing out a load of cash. As stated paint supply shops will mix up a close match in aerosol cans for diy WHEEL ARCH REPAIR using colour match swatches-always view/compare in good outdoor light.. The original paint would have been GLASURIT.

Classic Car Colors

As paint experts with more than 130 years of experience under our belts, we can advise and support you in all aspects of vintage colors and paintwork. We offer you professional support with our Glasurit Classic Car Colors service, where you will find tips on how to achieve first-class classic...

www.glasurit.com

Many thanks for the information, the existing paint is original - good to know

 

[C43AMG]

he parcel shelf around the bottom of the rear screen.

Yes it always rusts there, we had that problem with our 560 back in the day. Then MB actually had a oem part which you coud buy off the shelf ( Ecuse the pun ) not any more i'm afraid, they now need to be made !! So if you have that problem you need to find a bodyshop with those skills.

 

[tdazzz]

Yes it always rusts there, we had that problem with our 560 back in the day. Then MB actually had a oem part which you coud buy off the shelf ( Ecuse the pun ) not any more i'm afraid, they now need to be made !! So if you have that problem you need to find a bodyshop with those skills.

Ah interesting, shame they don't make it any more. I contacted Prestige Mercedes in Sevenoaks today as they seem to have a lot of experience with the SEC and this particular fix...

 

[grober]

This will give you an idea its the saloon not the coupe but problems are similar

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[grober]

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