Paint quality

[Michel]

Grazie Michel, . Il tuo indirizzo per favore.

unit 10, number 2 Ash Road, Prestons
Nearest cross street, Hoxton Park Road
Call me if you need to (0402) 350350

Arrivederci

 

[sean sherry]

Never too late to acquire knowledge.. Paint quality in Lexus, Mercedes and Volvo, lead the Pack. But the modern Water Based Paints are much better than yesterday, I am reliably informed.

 

[SEL_69L]

The paint quality in my E55 and my C280 (both 1998, both German manufacture) is OK, but they both show signs of rust bubbles under the paint, and in some tiny spots, the paint is perforated, in larger flat areas of the body, where you simply don't find this sort of rust damage in any modern car.

It has been explained to me that in 1998, Mercedes was changing over to water based paints. Perhaps some more R&D should have been done at the time of the then new paint technology, to retain Mercedes reputation for high build quality. They didn't.

W210's had a reputation for rusting. Fortunately, my AMG E55 seem to have been garaged all of it's life, and seems to have escaped from any structural damage, but it still shows tiny signs of rust bubbles, as mentioned above.
I have since drowned the poor thing in fish oil in all structural parts of the car that I can get at, as it sat on a hoist. All of that stuff is now very nicely dry to the touch.

 

[Michel]

I have since drowned the poor thing in fish oil in all structural parts of the car that I can get at.

Must have a nice smell now

 

[sean sherry]

More insight... I was advised that the still excellent Paint condition on the 2010 C Class was down to, the small mileage 70Ks, and that it has always been Garaged.

 

[SEL_69L]

The color coat on modern Mercedes-Benz cars is also barely thick enough.

The real difference is that the clear top coat is much thicker and and quite a bit harder. Ask any professional car detailer, when it comes to buffing them.

Nevertheless, the best way to preserve paint is to garage the car when it is not being driven.
Perhaps Mercedes cars maybe a bit more resistant to UV in sunlight ?

 

[Oversize]

Quality also comes down to case hardness for which Mercedes excels.

 

[sean sherry]

Yes Mark, I have found that out to my cost. The Camry scratches if I look at it sideways. Hopefully it is just the Clear Coat. I saw a very interesting test for this on Google, spray some soapy water on the scratch and if the scratch disappears it is just the CLEAR COAT, THAT CAN BE SANDED DOWN WITH FINE Wet & Dry, and then polished to bring back the shine. Time consuming but the cost is minimal. I now understand the difference in Paint finishes. We get what we pay for.

 

[SEL_69L]

My E55 used to smell a bit 'fishy'.
It doesn't now.

My old 6.9 was also drowned with fish oil, pumped into the bodywork with compressed air. Styria did the work. That happened about 10 years ago.
The current owner has not reported that it smells 'fishy'.

The fish oil that was used is epoxy based. It takes a whole summer of hot weather to dry thoroughly. When thoroughly dry, it is very flexible and easily accommodates thermal expansion and contraction anywhere in the bodywork.

All of my cars over the last 30 years or so have been treated in the same manner. None of them have suffered from any subsequent rust problems in the areas that they were treated.

 

[sean sherry]

I may have to eat my own words about Toyota Paint. It has come to my notice that all the Toyotas I have looked at have an excellent paint finish. So it seems to me now that the new 2018 redesigned Camry built in Japan is the new norm.
A very shallow and soft Top Coat, to save cost and weight. ??

 

[SEL_69L]

Perhaps if the top clear coat is known to be soft,
a ceramic sealant could be applied over it.

Ceramic sealants are really hard, much more resistant to minor scratching.

I have treated my E55, and accidently got a tiny droplet of it on the windscreen.
No way I could have rubbed it off.
The only way I could remove it was with a razor blade scraper.

That is why ceramic sealants should be applied by someone who knows what they are doing. Stuff the job up, and you can create almost unsolvable problems for yourself.

Nevertheless, ceramic sealants can still be hairline scratched, just like glass.
One way to prevent (or hide hairlines), is apply a polymer sealant to fill in the hairlines. Even on black cars in the sun, the hairlines are almost completely gone.

Polymer sealants are softer, and they can hairline more easily. When the hairlines get too much for you, apply more polymer sealant - a very quick process, faster than applying a wax polish.