MB Fire opal red issues

[alexanderfoti]

Mum really likes the idea of a red C class (she had a red 202 at one point).

Having a read on the internet, it seems as though this colour has real issues with micro blistering.

There appears to be no rhyme or reason. early cars (58 plates) to later cars (14 plates!) all being affected.

There are even some cases of cars being fully resprayed by MB, only to have the problem come back in 2-3 years.

Are any years/versions of this not affected, or is it just best to ignore this colour?

 

[Srdl]

There was a recent thread on this and one of the posts said:
"...all the dodgey ones are 490 code". Don't know how true that is though!

http://forums.mercedesclub.org.uk/i...upe-micro-blisters.162190/page-3#post-1530801

 

[alexanderfoti]

Hmmm too hearsay for me. Would hate to give advice, only to find the paint is screwed after a year!

 

[Srdl]

Hmmm too hearsay for me. Would hate to give advice, only to find the paint is screwed after a year!

I agree. It's actually code 590 and having done some more searching that appears to be the only code for Fire Opal. Definitely one to avoid!

 

[A.J.]

I agree. It's actually code 590 and having done some more searching that appears to be the only code for Fire Opal. Definitely one to avoid!

Shame, cos its a great looking colour

 

[alexanderfoti]

Shame, cos its a great looking colour

I agree. Especially with black trim on the car.

 

[alexanderfoti]

Saw 2 today at the same dealer.

Both had blistering on all panels... Not worth the trouble!

 

[peterws1957]

Shame, cos its a great looking colour

Agreed- it's a great colour but the handful I've seen at various dealers have all suffered the problem. What I don't understand is why this colour has been a problem over several year models.

 

[alexanderfoti]

Agreed- it's a great colour but the handful I've seen at various dealers have all suffered the problem. What I don't understand is why this colour has been a problem over several year models.

Indeed, its at least 08 to 13! That is a long time! I understand that it takes different amount of times to appear, depending on how the car has been stored etc.

 

[vtaylor78]

Steer well clear !! It's a shame because as said it's a great looking colour.

 

[turbopete]

what I find odd with this issue is that it only seems to affect MB which would suggest some sort of contaminants in the paint, the metal or somewhere. Malcolm has said in numerous previous threads on the subject of paint that red is the 'weakest' colour and is more prone to fading etc, which is true on ANY car, particularly ones painted with cellulose paint (rather than 2 pack paint) and exaggerated byy the fact that solid colours didn't have a clearcoat to protect them in the days of cellulose paint being used.

As I'm sure many regulars here know, I come from a 'Ford' family who has, when finances etc permitted, owned MB's. now over the years we have had many different colours including the various reds from the maroon looking Laquer red on my old mk3 escort through sunburst red (I think it was called) on an early mk2 fiesta, burgundy red (another mk2 fiesta) Radiant red (mk1 Mondeo, Escort GTi) and Colorado red (mk3 Focus and a fiesta of whatever version they were at in 2015, ive lost count!) and NEVER have we had a car that the paint blistered on. even my 12 year old red citroen ZX had no blistering and the fading cleaned up with some light cutting polish (turtle wax colour back IIRC)

I have seen blistering on cars of ALL colours. when I asked the guy who used to paint at the garage where I worked about the cause, I was told it was almost certain to be caused by a coat of paint, primer etc being applied when the filler/previous coat of paint wasn't completely dry (moisture from the wet sanding or a coat of paint put on too soon after the previous coat) so as it dried it caused this blistering.

my guess is that the issue is 1 of, or a combination of the above issues somewhere in the MB processes causing the issue with the Fire Opal red. IMO NOTHING looks better than a 204 Sport (or AMG) in Fire Opal red BUT MB need to sort this problem out at the source! it may affect other colours, but how many 'solid' colours are there? ive only seen metallic colours around, other than Fire Opal red and to my knowledge, we haven't heard of any other colour being affected here, (again, most are metallic colours or older than the affected age range) but its possible it affects ALL solid colours?!

 

[John Laidlaw]

Am I right in saying the issues ended 2013 ish?

 

[A.J.]

Am I right in saying the issues ended 2013 ish?

Well, when I was in conversation with the dealership in York about an Opal Red W204 AMG Sport I asked them to have a close look at the car and tell me the condition of the paint, IE whether it was blistering or not. They told me that it was clean of any blistering but that was no guarantee that it wouldn't in the future. He went on to say that they had a 2015 in their bodyshop as we spoke with the same issues.

 

[John Laidlaw]

Shame, as Pete says the combination in a 204 looks awesome...

 

[Xtractorfan]

Just steer well clear of all Opal reds, as said, beautiful colour, but there is a problem with it and MB haven't done anything about it.
Certainly not a contamination problem, this would have been sorted long ago. Contamination is always the first place to look for problems of this nature. The line would have been closed down and meticulously examined and replaced where necessary.
The make up of the paint itself will have been checked, all paints of all colours generally contain the same components, so only the red pigment will be suspect, as said, reds and some pastel blues are prone to sun damage and more likely to bubble or microblister.
As for Fords, wayy back in the day The silver MK11 Cortina had a similar problem, but Ford were on the ball and recalled and repainted all they could find. Early Mk111 escorts had a big front panel (below the bumper) which was finished in a white stoneguard coating, which they then over painted with the colour coat without undercoating and it came off in lumps as it stone chipped.
I would wonder if the Fire Opal Red colour is available in California or any other of the Worlds Hot spots. This is usually the test ground for many of the new colours and materials.

 

[vtaylor78]

The Red is most certainly the weakest colour, not only with MB though.
Take a look at most Vauxhall Astras/Corsa's in that bright red, they turn a sort of pink .

 

[A.J.]

Has anybody on here actually got a Fire Opal Red MB. ??

 

[John Laidlaw]

Has anybody on here actually got a Fire Opal Red MB. ??

Think there was someone on here recently Andy, but handed it back for refund due to this...

 

[A.J.]

Think there was someone on here recently Andy, but handed it back for refund due to this...

Oh yes, I do remember that......

 

[peterws1957]

Some owners have had their cars bare metal (allegedly) resprayed. Apparently MB Manchester are good at getting this done FOC through MB. However I wonder whether the new paint jobs will stand the test of time or if the problem will recur. Similar shades of red from other manufacturers dont appear to have this blistering problem so why MB?