Bodge it. Rub down, treat & touch up with a few coats of hammerite. Job done. It won't look pretty but stops it getting any worse for a while. Done this to a few bubbles on my front wings and it doesn't notice unless you look closely.
My w210 is close to rust free despite it living by the coast most of its life- think its because the previous owned waxed it
My w210 is close to rust free despite it living by the coast most of its life- think its because the previous owned waxed it
Last edited:
Dieselman
Banned
- Joined
- Jul 13, 2003
- Messages
- 34,199
- Car
- Peugeot 403 Convertible
Why?
Dieselman
Banned
- Joined
- Jul 13, 2003
- Messages
- 34,199
- Car
- Peugeot 403 Convertible
In general, the further South the car is used the less rust it will have as the weather is warmer and no salt is required in winter.
I have never subscribed to the coastal air creating rust...unless you either park it on the sea-front or launch boats down slipways.
nick mercedes
MB Enthusiast
The steel from ships is re-rolled in Asia, that's why there's such a demand for them in India and Bangladesh.
Mercedes rust because they're badly designed and badly built/painted.
The steel they're made from won't be any different to any other car makers steel.
englishdas
Active Member
There could be internal cracks in the steel if its been remelted, with the wrong smelting products or just poorly done.
Having done a fair bit of casting for aerospace and even the odd pagani, everything had to be x_rayed to check for hairline structural weaknesses. Even following the highest procedures and being about as careful as it is possible to be, there would be about one in 50 pieces that got pulled.
So huge swathes of commercial steel re-cast Willy nilly in a country where quality moves out of the way for volume is bound to create issues. It's the reason why Sheffield steel costs more and Mercedes I guess buy their steel from China instead of making it at home or getting it from us.
Just watch an Air Craft Investigation, there's always some rubbish metal being x rayed showing metal fatigue.
Having done a fair bit of casting for aerospace and even the odd pagani, everything had to be x_rayed to check for hairline structural weaknesses. Even following the highest procedures and being about as careful as it is possible to be, there would be about one in 50 pieces that got pulled.
So huge swathes of commercial steel re-cast Willy nilly in a country where quality moves out of the way for volume is bound to create issues. It's the reason why Sheffield steel costs more and Mercedes I guess buy their steel from China instead of making it at home or getting it from us.
Just watch an Air Craft Investigation, there's always some rubbish metal being x rayed showing metal fatigue.
RichCC
New Member
There was plenty of salt used on the roads in the thirty odd years I lived in Sussex by the sea (ie Chichester/Littlehampton/Bognor regis) so I'm not quite sure I agree with your point of view on this one
I have a 220 CDI and too have a rust problem on the rear arches! My understanding of the issue is that both BMW and Merc skimped on the Galvanisation process to cut costs during the late 1990's and 2004. So owners or potential owners of cars of this era should always keep a check on the edges of the bodywork; boot lid included! So I don't think it is the steel to blame here necessarily? Incidently both companies were fined heavily and have since improved the galvanisation of their cars.
In my opinion, there are two options in treating the rust.
1. Have the metal regalvanised. This is probably the expensive option, but should sort out the problem for the life of the car.
2. Rub back the rust and treat it with a rust beating compound. I have found the Hammerite series very effective for this and not too expensive. As the arches are normally not visible, I use smooth silver hammerite, which is quite a good match for mine, 3-4 coats. So far so good. I've only had to touch up one alittle area once in a year. I've also treated a couple of visible areas and then used the correct touch up paint.
In my opinion, there are two options in treating the rust.
1. Have the metal regalvanised. This is probably the expensive option, but should sort out the problem for the life of the car.
2. Rub back the rust and treat it with a rust beating compound. I have found the Hammerite series very effective for this and not too expensive. As the arches are normally not visible, I use smooth silver hammerite, which is quite a good match for mine, 3-4 coats. So far so good. I've only had to touch up one alittle area once in a year. I've also treated a couple of visible areas and then used the correct touch up paint.
My understanding is that panels weren't galvanised at all, at least not on MBs until 2004.
