Replacing wings on W202 using pre painted ones

[Devonian]

Due to rust on the originals we are thinking of replacing both wings with pre painted ones from http://www.everycarpart.co.uk/index.php

Has anyone had any experience of this company (or any other that supplies pre painted panels) or of the job generally.

Paint spraying is not one of my better qualities hence the reason for going for pre painted panels. I've had a look and it seems a reasonably easy job to do but any advice or thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Andy

 

[SilverSaloon]

Due to rust on the originals we are thinking of replacing both wings with pre painted ones from http://www.everycarpart.co.uk/index.php

Has anyone had any experience of this company (or any other that supplies pre painted panels) or of the job generally.

Paint spraying is not one of my better qualities hence the reason for going for pre painted panels. I've had a look and it seems a reasonably easy job to do but any advice or thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Andy

depends how good your existing paint is. it may be hard to get a good match as they wont have the car to compare against. i'd prefer to get them painted once you have them so a bodyshop can blend in the wings along the sides of the doors if needed.

 

[Xtractorfan]

That seems quite a good service and a quality finish.. as said the actual paint match is the only problem, Bumpers and plastic parts will normly get away with being a shade out but edge to edge panels like wings will really stand out.. but overall its a good service and well priced... You have to also remember that the panels as shown are all spurious panels and not the original manufacturer parts, so fitting could also be a problem..

 

[Devonian]

Thanks for the replies.
This car is my son's (Tim). He is a student and wants wants to tidy up the car spending as little as possible. It is suffering from rust in a few places, both front wings, both rear wheel arches and the boot around the lock and below the number plate. (pictures attached) so we are thinking of attacking this as a project and here is the plan:

1) Replace both wings with pre painted ones (most likely from the company above)
2) As the rust on the rear arches is confined to the inner fold we should be able to clean this off, and re spray without having to overspray onto the side of the car.

That just leaves the boot! This will be more of a problem because we will have to try to blend in the paint (which we have not done before) cleaning off the rust and filling shouldn't be too much of a problem and we can use the old wings to practice on before spraying the boot.

What do you think? are we mad??

Any help or suggestions before we start would be appreciated.

I have a few specific questions which maybe some experienced guys can help with:

1) Are the wings fitted with any type of mastic or sealant? if so what product? Looking at the joint under the bonnet it doesn't look like any has been used.

2) Should we treat the inner surfaces of the new wings with anything before fitting?

3) When we clean off the rust on the rear arches and boot presumably we should sand/grind this down to shiny metal then then should we prime/fill and top coat or fill/prime and top coat or should it be treated with a rust inhibitor if so at what stage?

Finally (for the moment) as you can see in the pictures there is also a dent on the upper corner of the boot lid, we might as well try to do this at the same time. Should this just be filled / sanded and sprayed? if so do I need to sand or scrape the area first to key the filler in?

If we decide to go ahead with this project we will take some pictures and post the work on here so it can be either encouragement or a warning to others, depending on how it turns out !!

 

[Devonian]

more pictures

As I could only upload five pictures here are a few more

 

[turbopete]

i will be carrying out similar, but slightly more severe repairs to my w210 in the not too distant future. as far as im aware, theres no need for sealant etc under the bonnet etc as the panels are bolt on and its unusual to have any sealant anywhere except maybe the rear edge of the wing where the wing bolts to the door pillar.

secondly, i would advise treating the inner surfaces of the wings with waxoyl to prevent re-ocurrence.

when grinding off rust, get it as clean as possible, apply rust inhibitor then etching primer ideally or you could try using POR 15. it seems to be the mutts nuts for this type of situation! then fill if required, prime and paint as normal.

as for the dent in the boot lid, this could be filled and painted or a paintless dent removal company may be able to remove it for you and just polish out the scuff marks! if you do decide to fill the dent, the paint will need to be keyed with sandpaper (id use 80 grit personally for this) to allow the filler to get a good hold on the paint/panel.

 

[Xtractorfan]

Grinding where there is rust is never a good idea, unless you are gonna replace the rusted metal. Best thing to do is sand blast, this will remove the rust and the pores and leave clean metal,which can be treated and filled...filled not with body filler, as body filler is porous and absorbes water... Next best thing to use is a drill and a wire brush..use a cordless drill and buy a selection of wire brushes, flat and cupped, brush away all the rust, now use a new clean small wire brush and clean up all the rust pores, if you now want to use a rust inhibitor or preventative, you can, tho I have little faith in such potions....
Your dent in the boot lid, as said get it professionally removed by a dent guy, it is a prime dent for removal... attempting to fill and paint it with limited knowledge will only make it much worse...
I will be doing the wheel arches on my own S class in the next few weeks..so I will post pics and a full write up...

 

[wireman]

If you do grind or blast away at any rusty bits do cover up and mask adjacent areas to avoid damage to the other paintwork.

 

[Devonian]

Thanks for the replies and help

...filled not with body filler, as body filler is porous and absorbes water...

Then what product should we use?

I will be doing the wheel arches on my own S class in the next few weeks..so I will post pics and a full write up...

Thanks, I'll look forwards to reading and no doubt getting some more tips

 

[turbopete]

there is something i think is called lead filler. its a kind of metal filler im told that you melt into the imperfections rather like solder. i cant comment on the product as ive never used it or seen it used. all ive been told is that its terribly expensive! as regards ordinary bodyfiller being porous, this is correct, however the paint will seal it from the outside and you can buy brushable joint sealer which can be 'painted' over the filled area to seal it up prior to applying underseal/waxoyl etc. the joint sealer remains flexible and therefore doesnt have any problems (that im aware of) fegarding cracking or peeling off etc, as long as its applied to clean solid surfaces (ie any flaking underseal etc is removed)

 

[Xtractorfan]

The problems with sealing up the inner cavity on a rear wheel arch is absolutely almost impossible.. so therin lies the problem, leading or soldering is ok but somewhat outdated and worked well on the older heavier panels A35s, Morris minors etc.. Todays technology is to use a two pack epoxy filler...the method I think employed by mercedes benz...this method also seals and adheres to the metal,