w124 door skins

[MercedesintheBlood]

Hi

I have a w124, and the drivers door as well as the 4 wheel arches have rust bubbling through. The drivers door has 3 rust spots just above the side skirt (not sure how far it goes below the side skirt...), all around the size of a 50p piece at the moment.

I am looking to buy a door skin to replace the current one that will need re-spraying etc.

Is it worth replacing the door skin only or will it be easier getting the rusty door repaired by a body shop ?

Also I have been quoted approx. £800 cash price in getting the door, and all 4 wheel arches repaired by several body shops.

Is that a reasonable quote ?


Thanks

MercedesintheBlood

 

[coupe addict]

Hi

I have a w124, and the drivers door as well as the 4 wheel arches have rust bubbling through. The drivers door has 3 rust spots just above the side skirt (not sure how far it goes below the side skirt...), all around the size of a 50p piece at the moment.

I am looking to buy a door skin to replace the current one that will need re-spraying etc.

Is it worth replacing the door skin only or will it be easier getting the rusty door repaired by a body shop ?

Also I have been quoted approx. £800 cash price in getting the door, and all 4 wheel arches repaired by several body shops.

Is that a reasonable quote ?


Thanks

MercedesintheBlood

You really should take the plastic panel off, in order to see the extent of the problem. Rusting immediately under the top edge of the plastic is frequently quite localised, and relatively easy to deal with. However, if the door has lower window seals that leak, you can get rot at the bottom edge of the door which can be quite severe before it comes into view, and you don't want to have to revisit the work in a year or so just because you failed to see this. I personally don't see a door skin as the answer. If the door looks ok-ish with the plastic panel removed, then your quotes seem reasonable; if, however, its a real mess you might do better with a breaker for a door, if you can find one complete with glass etc.

 

[MercedesintheBlood]

You really should take the plastic panel off, in order to see the extent of the problem. Rusting immediately under the top edge of the plastic is frequently quite localised, and relatively easy to deal with. However, if the door has lower window seals that leak, you can get rot at the bottom edge of the door which can be quite severe before it comes into view, and you don't want to have to revisit the work in a year or so just because you failed to see this. I personally don't see a door skin as the answer. If the door looks ok-ish with the plastic panel removed, then your quotes seem reasonable; if, however, its a real mess you might do better with a breaker for a door, if you can find one complete with glass etc.

Many thanks for your reply. I managed to take the side panel off the drivers door, and have uploaded some pictures.

My thoughts were to first sand it down, put some Hammerite from Halfords on it, and then spray it with Smoke Silver 702 paint just so the car is more presentable.

 

[Will]

I don’t think Hammerite is much good for painting over.

Would be worth having a look into the current products available eg POR15 or Bilt-Hamber etc

 

[coupe addict]

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Many thanks for your reply. I managed to take the side panel off the drivers door, and have uploaded some pictures.

My thoughts were to first sand it down, put some Hammerite from Halfords on it, and then spray it with Smoke Silver 702 paint just so the car is more presentable.

Definitely not Hammerite.
Start with something that reacts to produce a non-corrosive skin on the metal - I like the dinitrol product range, but there are many.
Most DIY jobs will leave that sort of damage looking quite poor, but if you don't want to face the cost of professional repair, then mark off as small an area as possible, and do as little filling and rubbing down as possible.
At first glance, the car looks worth spending money on.

 

[MercedesintheBlood]

Thanks for the advice/recommendations.

In the past I have always given previous cars to a body shop and just paid the money and not really questioned the cost element as long as it was not a silly price...

I will give this a go my self, and see how it turns out. I will upload some pics to show progress.

 

[amazighman]

I would use some rust remover like jenolite and keep applying it untill all rust is gone and bright metal is showing ( you might end up with a hole if the metal is corroded throughout)
I will then fill and sand smooth them prime and paint, wait till all is dry after few days then try and blend using rubbing compound it in, it wont be perfect thats for sure.

 

[MercedesintheBlood]

Hi all

Just an update, after experimenting and attempting to fix the door rust myself I will post some pics to show the end result. Obviously very difficult trying to blend in Smoke Silver, and not being able to get an exactly colour match.

If the door rust comes out ok, I will then attempt the wheel arches.

A lot of trial and error.

As mentioned above pics to follow.

 

[SeasidePete]

I am breaking a w124 but it is in red. I have taken just about everything out that I need and was just going to scrap the shell.

Are you still after the panels?

I don't want much for them if you do, would rather let them go to a member here for a couple of quid than have em crushed.

 

[alabbasi]

If you can get a full door skin, go that route.

 

[grober]

Glasurit and similar paint manufacturers may list several shades of Smoke silver acording to which paint batch was used on the factory production line at a particular point in time . i.e. not all Mercedes "Smoke Silvers" are the same- the differences are subtle -in colour pigment content or metallic finish or thickness of clearcoat but become immediately apparent on affecting a paint repair. Repairing light metallics are the worst. I always recommend getting a custom jumbo spray can made up from a professional auto paint supplier. They will use a very comprehensive range of colour finish swatches they have from paint manufacturers to get an accurate match.

 

[slade1]

Some motor factors have a fancy machine the put on the panel and mix paint to your particular shade.
Had this done on my 1960 190, it was a very good mach

 

[MercedesintheBlood]

Hi All

Sorry for the delayed response. As mentioned in one of my posts above, I gave the side door panel a go myself with the results below. I ended up buying the spray paint (smoke silver), primer, sand paper, filler etc from Halford, total spend £50-60. All done using my hands, no power tools.

The colour match is not bad, considering the original paint work has faded.

Applying the lacquer was the most difficult part, and as it is now, there is no "shine", I had to start from scratch about 10 times, removing the lacquer completely, as it just came out patchy.

The next task will be the wheel arches, but I will wait until it passes the MOT first !!

Pics attached for you to have a look at.

Thanks all for your input.

 

[a111r]

Looks a very good job for DIY with rattle cans.
Halford's 'base coat' cans are not bad at all, IME.

1K lacquer just ain't up to much, though.

 

[optimusprime]

You should have used a rust stabilizer .You paint it on it converts the rust and kills it,, then you can fill, and paint .And for what its worth you could pick up another replacement door just the same paint code as yours from a parts yard . Never seen rust like you have on any W124 may have had a bad repair before. May be something to do later on as you use yours .The repair looks good for now but will return later on .

 

[MercedesintheBlood]

Hi I did use a rust converter., so lets see how long before it re-appears...