C250D - 1994 rust all over

[spock500]

C250D - 1994 patchy rust

Hi all,

Most of the internals are now done in terms of having a reliable dual fuel car which can function without issue 365 days of the year.

This now leaves the ageing bodywork to be tackled which as the following pics show is in poor shape.

My intention was to dig out back to bare metal and treat with anti rust oxide primer - once done sand down and fill with plastic padding or similar, prime (grey) and then apply base coat -

Repeat the base coat application with regular fine sanding in between.

The vehicle before I purchased it had some sort of T cutting exercise done at a car valet shop to try and remove the dull finish, evidence of this can be seen on the surrounding rubber where there is still red tinged splatter of the rotary buffer.

On the wing I was going to get back to bare metal and rivet a strip of alluminium around the damaged area -

A couple of questions for a novice:

Is the above the right way to tackle this or have things moved on since I last patched up my MkIII Cortina

Second, the colour in non metallic Imperial Red, does this need a clear lacquer afterwards?

What type of paint is on this car, is it cellulose or other?

Any advice appreciated,

TIA

 

[NW_Merc]

With that looking as bad as it is on the front wing, is it going to be worth your efforts in prepping and then painting or would it be be more economical to replace the panel with new metal. Also the centre of a panel is difficult to blend in without spraying the whole panel. It looks like a big job and if the extent of the rust being that bad, is it best for a professional bodyshop to take a look?

I don't mean to sound like you don't know what you're doing, but if after all your energy and time, the rust comes back very soon then it will just mean it will have to be done again.

 

[spock500]

I did consider replacing th front wings but thought it would be then impossible to match to the rest of the car (due to fading) -

The way I am going at the moement is to do a reasonable repair to last perhaps 18 months and then consider a full re-spray with new panels as you suggest.

I have spent quite a bit of time and money on the conversion and other related bits and bobs that I really would like to start using the car but at the same time for it to look ok and not rust further.

Its quite a low milage example and the interior looks like it was fitted yesterday.

Edit: I have edited the title as I think it was a bit too dramatic

 

[KillerHERTZ]

Even with a slightly different colour of wing, it will look better than a patch up job!

Within 6 months one of my wings will no doubt look like that... and mines a 99!

 

[cjab98]

Even with a slightly different colour of wing, it will look better than a patch up job!

Within 6 months one of my wings will no doubt look like that... and mines a 99!

Mine's a 2000 and its bubbling up around the arches and a few other places. I'm going to get mine all resprayed in the areas where it is rusting and pray that it lasts, but I fear it will be a constant battle.

I think the later W202's are the worst for rust.

 

[KillerHERTZ]

I think the later W202's are the worst for rust.

Yeah deffo, my previous 1995 C180 had only 1 tiny patch.

 

[television]

Straight colours can be blown in, but very hard with aerosols as the paint is so thin. When sanding off only use filler to make up the paint height. to test how good your flatting is spray on a mist top coat and look longways on while it is still wet and you will see the imperfections, lighty sanding off this mist coat will high light the high and low spots.
Only ever use a block as your hand will follow faults

 

[nick mercedes]

On the wing I was going to get back to bare metal and rivet a strip of alluminium around the damaged area

I'd live with the scabs until you can get it all done in a bodyshop.

 

[spock500]

Ok, well I'll take some before and after photos as this seems to be a common problem -

I wasnt joking when I said about the Cortina

So is the paint cellulose? I have seen this question asked on paint matching web sites and 2, do I need a clear coat or is the base ok to polish up?

 

[nick mercedes]

So is the paint cellulose?

It's 2pack - isocyanate.

 

[television]

It's 2pack - isocyanate.

Correct and poison if you breath it in, its also known as 2k commonly over here

but not if you have never done it before, you could you cellulose thats easy to work with

 

[spock500]

I thought I would add a few more photos to give a 'before and after' - just in case this turns into a bit of a tutorial it may help others

I replaced the bumper but couldnt get an exact match so need to sand and paint the chome/red plastic to matt black

Paint spatter caused by cutting compound (I think)