Correct thinners for MB Paint?

[sausage]

I am not looking for advice on anything other than what thinners to use

I received a touch up kit from Mercedes Benz main dealer. "Genuine Mercedes-Benz Touch Up Paint Stick Tenorite Gray 755U A00098623507755"

The colour match is poor so I am going to try and remove the spots I touched up and have another go. I have been advised to use thinners to remove the spots I touched up.

Is there a different kind of thinners required these days? I remember cellulose paint, and cellulose thinners, but the paint seems to be replaced with water based paints afaik. So, if the paint is water based, is there a different kind of thinner I need, or should I opt for cellulose thinners?


Thanks
Mark

 

[mioba]

Might sound daft, but is there a list of ingredients on the package, or you should be able to and get a SDS which will usually tell you whats in it, form there you can elucidate the relevant thinner.

That said if its dry - I am not sure how you would remove it

 

[Rob7seven]

I needed some small touch ups on my C300, no problem I thought as it's Iridium Silver, and I still had some almost unused paint from a previous silver Mercedes, the paint was about 8 years old but it had been stored in a cool dark place and didn't seem to have thickened or separated. After stirring the paint carefully with a thin splint of wood, and using a good quality #00 sable brush (NEVER use the clumsy one in the screw off cap), I tried a couple of small spots, but it didn't look hopeful, very poor colour match, though I thought I'd let it dry. It was no better after drying, so I looked on eBay and found an alternative that had good feedback, ordered one that afternoon, and it arrived the next day's post. A sniff confirmed that the paint was solvent-based, not the water-based stuff that Mercedes have to use due to an EU directive. A clean sable brush again, and I carefully filled a couple of small stone chips being careful not to over fill, and saw at once that the colour match was near perfect, success! The touch-ups are virtually undetectable now, vastly better than the official Mercedes product and about half the price. To clean brushes I used acetone. Not sure what you could thin this or the MB paint with, I doubt if water would work on the water-based MB stuff, acetone might, but if I were you I'd phone or call on a nearby repair place to ask their advice. The secret to perfect spot retouch is a clean top quality fine paint brush and pinpoint accuracy, and don't over fill, wear your specs if needed, take your time and best of luck.

Look for MAD, mildanautodesign ltd on eBay, 30ml for £6.95 inc postage.

 

[Misterdog]

Myldan.

Pardon our interruption...

www.ebay.co.uk

 

[Rob7seven]

Yes that's the stuff, and it is good quality paint. A bonus is that it doesn't need a lacquer coat over the top of each retouch like the official Mercedes water based stuff does, so that makes it even less noticeable. I can only speak of experience with their Iridium Silver, but in my case the colour match was perfect, the MB equivalent anything but.

It does need a really good shake or stir before use though, pigment tends to sink to the bottom a bit.

 

[Frontstep]

Test a dab with water.

 

[sausage]

Thanks all - I will take a look and a sniff.

My touch up technique, which I have only just figured out after trying the brush that came with the paint, is to use a cocktail stick, with a small but appropriate size "dip" of paint. It works like a dream for stone chips. In fact I did speak to a smart paint repairs company about my stone chips, a company who recently did a bumper repair for me. They said "Don't ever use the brush, always a cocktail stick" Odd that in all my years, I never figured it out until a few days before someone gave me exactly that advice.

 

[Frontstep]

Every day is a school day.

 

[joderest]

i would use t cut to remove the bits of paint, less likely to damage the surrounding paint, takes a small bit of effort.

 

[Droverunner]

I've used a cocktail stick or small artist brush for touch up for 20yrs+. You might note these days many touch ups have a much smaller brush as standard.

I would be so wary of using any sort of thinners to remove these wrong colour areas... I'd try compound first... even a vey well controlled scrape/flick with an appropriate size small screwdriver might be better.

 

[Misterdog]

Big difference between paint thinner and paint stripper, I use 2K lacquer at work, thinners works while still wet but once cured - no chance.