Refurb's Finished.

[jberks]

I've bored many of you with tales of my refurb deliberations. I've had the car since nearly new so I've watched the deterioration over the last 5 years / 120,000 miles and it got to the stage that something needed doing.
So, its done and here are some pics
To start with, this is what I started with.

 

[jberks]

And after

And after a full wheel strip and powder coat, and a front end respray, new chrome and new number plates & a full polish ....

 

[jberks]

And to celebrate I rewired the drivers door mirror.
The mirror adjuster's been playing up for months. So popped down to Maplin this morning for some thin flexible wire and heatsink. Stripped the mirror down - had to refer to my own DIY when I couldn't get the cover off. Finally got it apart. Of the 11 wires I looked at, 10 required nothing more than a very gentle pull to snap them. (I fixed the 11th anyway - it would have gone soon anyway).
Thats all the jobs done now. The ones I know of anyway ......

 

[Jdokal]

Very nice

Was the front end respray expensive?

 

[television]

Very nice JB so pleased you got it all done,,you will have to clean it now, a keeps a 100ft gap from the car in front to avoid any more stone chips

 

[jberks]

Very nice

Was the front end respray expensive?

£550 - which I think is a bit of a bargain really.
I had been quoted £1100 by another outfit for the same job. They even repaired a scratch in the lacquer on the driver's door thats been there since I bought it and I hadn't even asked for that to be done. So very chuffed really.
He told me it should have been £650 but he'd quoted £500-£600 so £550 it was. Can't say fairer than that.
And for anyone interested the wheels were £280.

 

[jberks]

Very nice JB so pleased you got it all done,,you will have to clean it now, a keeps a 100ft gap from the car in front to avoid any more stone chips

Thanks Malc,
Never mind 100ft - I think I'm going to park her in the garage and only bring her out to look at !!

 

[surfer_2010uk]

Refurb !!

Good job mate.
Looks nice, might just motivate me as well !!

 

[47p2]

Looks superb, time to trade in now

 

[AlastairD]

Ready to do my wheels, quoted only £140 for full strip, powder & laquer. Got new centre caps ready, bit worried about the colour match with them though. I think it could make or break the job....and the price seems too good to be true!
Lots of other Mercs at the place, and a spare set of e class wheels to see me on my way for a couple of days.

 

[jberks]

Ready to do my wheels, quoted only £140 for full strip, powder & laquer. Got new centre caps ready, bit worried about the colour match with them though. I think it could make or break the job....and the price seems too good to be true!
Lots of other Mercs at the place, and a spare set of e class wheels to see me on my way for a couple of days.

That is remarkaby cheap - I'd just want to know what the guarantee is. The thing with any paintwork is prep and the less you pay, the less prep they have budget for. At some point, the line falls to far north and you get a poor job. Does depend on the condition of the wheels though and hence how much work is required. The £280 I paid included a heavy discount. The original price was neare £400!
So £140 would have me nervous tbh.
I was shown some 'demo' wheels at a garage a few months ago as an example of the results the guy they use produced. Told me all I needed to know, the finish was very poor, speckled in places, smooh in others, and that was on a advert wheel!. So, have a good look at examples of their work before you commit.

The people I used were "The wheel specialists" who are a franchise but I've yet to hear a bad report about any of their outlets.

Colour wise, mine were polished rather than painted so there was no way of replicating the finish so I went in a different direction and had black chrome which, now I'm used to them, I think really contrasts well with the silver of the car. It gives it a much more modern look.

 

[drmw]

Ready to do my wheels, quoted only £140 for full strip, powder & laquer. Got new centre caps ready, bit worried about the colour match with them though. I think it could make or break the job....and the price seems too good to be true!
Lots of other Mercs at the place, and a spare set of e class wheels to see me on my way for a couple of days.

Too cheap even for painting! Also - "powder & laquer" - unless part of the wheel is bare metal (eg diamond cut) the there's no need - or point - in putting any laquer on top.

Doesn't work from the back of a yellow Reliant Robin, does he?

 

[Mounis]

Did you supply the Chrome bumper strips? or were they included in the price? They are about £40 each arent they?

 

[Dosco]

Excellent work JB and you made the right choice for the wheel re-furb

 

[jberks]

Did you supply the Chrome bumper strips? or were they included in the price? They are about £40 each arent they?

No, I supplied them, along with the replacement number plates. From memory they were roughly £30 each off a supplier on ebay. MB don't supply them on their own for the 211 for some mad reason. The only way to get official ones seems to be to buy a complete corner panel which are around £100 a side and makes the also heavy £30 for a bit of chromed plastic suddenly look reasonable!.

 

[Christian]

Great job ! Well done Jb .

 

[m3evok8]

Lovely job JB. You are making me feel guilty about the amount of chips on mine. :Oops:

 

[Turbo Merc]

Wow what a transformation! Really good to see the finished article

 

[orb the Impaler]

Who did the paintwork, Jberks.

I'm quite local to you (live Rossendale, work Leeds) and have a similar tale of stone-chippery.

 

[jberks]

Who did the paintwork, Jberks.

I'm quite local to you (live Rossendale, work Leeds) and have a similar tale of stone-chippery.

JR Autobodies on Harehills Lane.
From the main road, it looks like a dump behind an advertising hoarding. Even then, when you get past the hoarding it still looks like a tatty workshop with 2 ramps open to the elements. You wouldn't consider them for bodywork. Hell, you wouldn't consider them for a service!

That is, if you weren't a local with knowledge of their reputation.
I called in and was really confused.
The lad that owns it is called "Panda" (probably spelt wrong) . Really nice guy. He offered me a tour (thought this isn't going to take long!) . Took me to a door at the back of the workshop that I'd assumed was a store room. Instead, it was a fully equipped, well staffed bodyshop, with Mercs and Porsches being worked on. Basically they've built this place round the back and it can be accessed off a side street with a proper carpark and entrance. Its just you wouldn't know it was there. The Harehills Lane entrace I guess is where his Dad started the business many years ago.
I'd say, highly recommended, but you've seen their work so you already know.