Should i underseal the sills of my SL or just paint black?

[SilverSaloon]

hi

as some of you are aware, i'm currently restoring my 1985 R107 SL.

The outer sills/rockers under the doors are, by standard spray painted matt black.

i've repaired these with new metal and the finish is good, however the original curve of the sill is intact but close up (ie rubbing hand over it) you can just feel where the new metal meets old.

i've painted them matt black and they do look fine from standing next to the car but if you really look/touch the area you can see the imperfections. this is just because the paint is thin.

i know if i brush painted black underseal over the sills they would look A1, but wouldnt be original look i've so far tried to go for.

my question is;

should i keep them matt black or brush black underseal on. this remains very very slightly tacky but would be better for rust protection aswell. i'm leaning toward underseal but would be intersted in all opinions! The underseal is hard to remove easily so its point of no return.

cheers!!!

 

[mercedeslover]

Hello. I had rust on my sills and when it was repaired, plenty of coats of clear waxoyl was applied
& the jacking points were filled with grease. It has worked for me! Also the plastic jack pads were removed, cleaned and covered in waxoyl. They come out
quite easily, just pull on the indent & out they come! All the best.

 

[SilverSaloon]

Hello. I had rust on my sills and when it was repaired, plenty of coats of clear waxoyl was applied
& the jacking points were filled with grease. It has worked for me! Also the plastic jack pads were removed, cleaned and covered in waxoyl. They come out
quite easily, just pull on the indent & out they come! All the best.

hi

thanks. the sl doesnt have the plastic covers though - its all just the metal sill with holes at the jackpoints.

 

[Dieselman]

If it's on show paint it with two or three coats of stone chip paint then a topcoat, if not on show use underseal/shutz.

 

[SilverSaloon]

If it's on show paint it with two or three coats of stone chip paint then a topcoat, if not on show use underseal/shutz.

yes, its on show.... all along the bottom of the car:

 

[SilverSaloon]

i'm going to try some stone chip paint that halfords sell. its black and it apparently leaves a ripple finish. should be good

 

[Baron_Samedi]

Good Idea, underseal is a rubbish product for metal protection from corrosion...

 

[SilverSaloon]

Good Idea, underseal is a rubbish product for metal protection from corrosion...

eh? i've coated the inner wings and underside with "underseal with added waxoil". but its brushed on (doing it myself) and you can see the brush marks etc - not a problem underneath the car.

the sills are visible so i needed a similar but tidier product.

i'll report back on how the stone chip stuff is. should be good.

 

[Baron_Samedi]

The added "waxoil" might make things better.

 

[ecossebev]

What about tried and tested Hammerite/Smoothrite? Get the best of both worlds.

 

[SilverSaloon]

What about tried and tested Hammerite/Smoothrite? Get the best of both worlds.

i'm going for this:

Hammerite Stonechip Shield Black 600ml from Halfords Price £6.99

 

[jaymanek]

I would primer, paint and then seal with black waxoyl or the stuff Dieselman always recommends... dinitrol?

 

[SilverSaloon]

hi

well i bought the halfords stuff as above and applied last night.

it doesnt leave a ripple effect, so just really appears like normal paint so doesnt hide the imperfections. I've top coated it with matt black paint aswell.

it looks ok and i'll continue on with other stuff for now and might come back to it later on.

i was really after something that would create a ripple effect so it would hide the fact its been repaired more.

 

[GSBellew]

This is what I would use:

Dinitrol 448 Water Based Stonechip, there is a solvent based version but the water base one is much more flexable.