Guidance restoring a R129

[Jerome458]

Also, I should share my goal which is to preserve the car so it does not get any worse. Also, this car has become basically part of the family and it is extremely unlikely we will ever sell it. We want it to be tidy and usable as it was intended, as a lovely grand tourer and enjoy it on some trips to Brighton.

 

[Doodle]

This has the makings of a promising project

 

[ray_hennig]

It's a 320 SL, so not massively rare or unique, but I enjoy driving it.

Drive down to PCS in Horndean and ask what Oliver thinks. He's got loads of experience with these and is a very honest chap. Take his advice.

And if you see him, tell him that my aircon is still working 5 years later.

RayH

 

[Kudly]

Drive down to PCS in Horndean and ask what Oliver thinks. He's got loads of experience with these and is a very honest chap. Take his advice.

And if you see him, tell him that my aircon is still working 5 years later.

RayH

Second that advice, Ollie will be very bluntly honest about what not to waste money on
Regarding wheel refurb, not used Premier Wheel Repairs in Redhill but have used Wheel Works in Crawley who I would recommend (after having seen them recommended on here or "the other place").

 

[Jerome458]

Thanks for all your advice. I'll definitely give them a visit.

In the meantime, I have been researching what I can get up to.

I want to protect the car and the paint, and as this is my first go at it, I want to do the easier bit first, so I have chosen this door which seems to not be that bad in my eyes.




Looking at it, excluding the door ends, which have clearly been dinged into things, I believe the paint to be in ok condition.

This is my plan and what I'm thinking. The top of the door's clear coat is knackered, giving this weathered and greyed effect. I believe the colour coat of paint should be fine, so I plan to wet sand the areas where the clear coat is weathered until I get to the colour coat and then use a 2k clear coat to apply a fresh, clear coat.

The bottom of the door is fine, so I'm assuming I can blend the clear coat in. Assuming is a keyword in that sentence.

Now having very little experience, I want to come to you if this seems logical/doable.

This is the stuff I'm planning on using.

PRO XL 2K CLEAR LACQUER SPRAY AEROSOL - 500ML - FREE POSTAGE

Genuine 2K isocyanate lacquer. Brilliant gloss retention. Very scratch resistant. Excellent finish every time. Only £26.99 with fast and free UK delivery.

www.rapidpaints.co.uk

But as always, your recommendations are more than welcome.

Thank You for your continued help and support on this mini-project. And ill keep you posted on my progress.

Thanks
Jonathan

 

[Doodle]

To be honest, the odds are stacked against the amateur here. By the time you consider:

• Getting a decent finish from a rattle can
• Lack of proper spray facilities- isocyanates are nasty and should be used with protective gear. Dust and foreign objects while it dries, no facility to bake etc
• Blowing in rather than spraying the complete panel adds to complexity

it's fairly likely the outcome will be less than desirable (although it also depends on what is an acceptable finish to you). It also increases the cost to have put right professionally.

I'm sure others will echo this next point; from a project management perspective, get the mechanicals right first THEN do the paint. Do enough to stop any corrosion (i.e clean up and cover the door edge) but leaving the rest of that door as it is for another year or 2 won't make any difference when the time comes to refinish. It also means that you don't end up having to redo it to remove any marks or damage acquired while fixing the operational bits.

 

[ChipChop]

Thanks for all your advice. I'll definitely give them a visit.

In the meantime, I have been researching what I can get up to.

I want to protect the car and the paint, and as this is my first go at it, I want to do the easier bit first, so I have chosen this door which seems to not be that bad in my eyes.

View attachment 142844
View attachment 142845

Looking at it, excluding the door ends, which have clearly been dinged into things, I believe the paint to be in ok condition.

This is my plan and what I'm thinking. The top of the door's clear coat is knackered, giving this weathered and greyed effect. I believe the colour coat of paint should be fine, so I plan to wet sand the areas where the clear coat is weathered until I get to the colour coat and then use a 2k clear coat to apply a fresh, clear coat.

The bottom of the door is fine, so I'm assuming I can blend the clear coat in. Assuming is a keyword in that sentence.

Now having very little experience, I want to come to you if this seems logical/doable.

This is the stuff I'm planning on using.

PRO XL 2K CLEAR LACQUER SPRAY AEROSOL - 500ML - FREE POSTAGE

Genuine 2K isocyanate lacquer. Brilliant gloss retention. Very scratch resistant. Excellent finish every time. Only £26.99 with fast and free UK delivery.

www.rapidpaints.co.uk

But as always, your recommendations are more than welcome.

Thank You for your continued help and support on this mini-project. And ill keep you posted on my progress.

Thanks
Jonathan

Preperation is the key to achieving a decent finish. Take you time removing all the trim from the door and masking off all the surrounding panels/ glass. IMHO you should not need to blend the lacquer onto the lower panel of the door if the lacquer on that panel is good. Just mask it off and reapply clear coat only where you have rubbed down.
The clear lacquer you have linked to appears to be very expensive. I have used this stuff by UK brand Hycote and experienced no issues. Used it on a new S210 front wing i resprayed Mercedes brilliant silver to great effect imho. Base coat and lacquer all done using spray cans.



Eurocar parts stock it at £4.89 for a 400ml can.

Hycote Clear Lacquer Spray Paint - 400ml | Euro Car Parts

Hycote Clear Lacquer Spray Paint - 400ml at the lowest UK prices from Euro Car Parts UK’s No.1 for Car Accessories, Car Styling & Car Care. Buy today Online, In store or by Phone + Branches Nationwide – Next Day UK Free Delivery.

www.eurocarparts.com

Maybe also consider getting the correct paint code touch up pen from your local Mercedes dealer to touch in the chips on the door edges. Then you can rub down these touch ups at the same time as you are rubbing down the clear coat before respraying the new clear coat.
Take your time and best of luck.

 

[Doodle]

The clear lacquer you have linked to appears to be very expensive. I have used this stuff by UK brand Hycote and experienced no issues.

Of course it is - they're 2 completely different types of paint system. The Hycote will be a basic 1k acrylic.

 

[ChipChop]

Of course it is - they're 2 completely different types of paint system. The Hycote will be a basic 1k acrylic.

Probably best to keep it simple if someone is willing to try their hand at refinishing a panel themselves. The Hycote acrylic lacquer will still create a lovely shiny finish. That was my experience anyway, albeit working with a brand new Mercedes body panel.

 

[Doodle]

Agreed, the 1k will be safer and more forgiving to use. The finish just isn't as durable or resistant to solvents as 2k hardened (but again, that depends on your expectations)

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

Thanks for all your advice. I'll definitely give them a visit.

In the meantime, I have been researching what I can get up to.

I want to protect the car and the paint, and as this is my first go at it, I want to do the easier bit first, so I have chosen this door which seems to not be that bad in my eyes.

View attachment 142844
View attachment 142845

Looking at it, excluding the door ends, which have clearly been dinged into things, I believe the paint to be in ok condition.

This is my plan and what I'm thinking. The top of the door's clear coat is knackered, giving this weathered and greyed effect. I believe the colour coat of paint should be fine, so I plan to wet sand the areas where the clear coat is weathered until I get to the colour coat and then use a 2k clear coat to apply a fresh, clear coat.

The bottom of the door is fine, so I'm assuming I can blend the clear coat in. Assuming is a keyword in that sentence.

Now having very little experience, I want to come to you if this seems logical/doable.

This is the stuff I'm planning on using.

PRO XL 2K CLEAR LACQUER SPRAY AEROSOL - 500ML - FREE POSTAGE

Genuine 2K isocyanate lacquer. Brilliant gloss retention. Very scratch resistant. Excellent finish every time. Only £26.99 with fast and free UK delivery.

www.rapidpaints.co.uk

But as always, your recommendations are more than welcome.

Thank You for your continued help and support on this mini-project. And ill keep you posted on my progress.

Thanks
Jonathan

Sorry, this made me grit my teeth. You're well-intentioned, for sure, but you need advice from a detailer and a coachworks.

Advice and quotes are free. I can't really see what's going on with the micro blistering from these photos, but I'm wondering if a detailer could transform the look of the car without applying paint and lacquer.

Even advice from someone who owns and maintains older cars in your network would be a good start.

We used to throw paint and lacquers at cars "in the good old days" thanks to the local "motor factor" but the standard of finish has risen massively since then, you run a risk of taking a car in rough condition and making it look much worse.

As Doodle has already said, the cosmetics are the least of your worries. First focus must be the mechanicals to make the car drive safely. A car which breaks down but looks OK will only frustrate you.

Personally, from what you've shown, which isn't reliable from the photos, I'd be very surprised if your local detailer couldn't transform the look of the car within a day, at a modest cost, leaving you to focus on getting the mechanicals right.

I know you said that Mum's been driving it, but that tells us nothing about whether the car's been serviced, whether the fluids are in good order, and whether the engine, drivetrain, electrics, brakes, wheels and tyres are in good order.

Here's the world of detailers and their projects: https://www.detailingworld.co.uk

 

[colinallcars]

Sorry, this made me grit my teeth. You're well-intentioned, for sure, but you need advice from a detailer and a coachworks.

Advice and quotes are free. I can't really see what's going on with the micro blistering from these photos, but I'm wondering if a detailer could transform the look of the car without applying paint and lacquer.

Even advice from someone who owns and maintains older cars in your network would be a good start.

We used to throw paint and lacquers at cars "in the good old days" thanks to the local "motor factor" but the standard of finish has risen massively since then, you run a risk of taking a car in rough condition and making it look much worse.

As Doodle has already said, the cosmetics are the least of your worries. First focus must be the mechanicals to make the car drive safely. A car which breaks down but looks OK will only frustrate you.

Personally, from what you've shown, which isn't reliable from the photos, I'd be very surprised if your local detailer couldn't transform the look of the car within a day, at a modest cost, leaving you to focus on getting the mechanicals right.

I know you said that Mum's been driving it, but that tells us nothing about whether the car's been serviced, whether the fluids are in good order, and whether the engine, drivetrain, electrics, brakes, wheels and tyres are in good order.

Here's the world of detailers and their projects: https://www.detailingworld.co.uk

My thoughts are the same, it may be worth trying a bit of T-Cut on the top of the door to see how it comes up - it’s a common place for contaminants to settle. That having been said and as pointed out above, the mechanical side of things should be your priority. Why not stick it in for an MoT to get a professional view of the condition of the tested items? It’s pretty comprehensive and will inform any decision on spending money on the body.