Respray

[StewartH]

Roughly how much is a complete respray on an 500 SEC?
Is it practical to completely change the colour?
Would a merc specialist have to do this or can any reputable bodyshop do the job?

 

[AMBK]

Hi Stewart,

I cant say that I think that what you are proposing is cheap but I can recomend a paintshop that resprayed my A class at the time after an accident.

Their name is Triangle Sprays and they are based in Cadnam - Hampshire. Top people, good service and they can provide courtesy cars. They do repairs for MB in the South both for Pentagon and Jacksons.

Give them a call and see what they quote you.

All the best.
Andrew

 

[andy_k]

it's going to be up to you how much you want to spend I know that's a vague answer but the quality of the job will depend on price. A complete bare metal respray is going to cost a lot if you leave all the work (stripping down) to either the bodyshop or the merc specialist.

When I had an Alfa done a few years back I striped the car down to a shell myself then had it delivered to the bodyshop for spraying and then returned to me for the rebuild. The advantage of this is that you get to put the car back together yourself and ensure that every part is cleaned and reassembled properly. The disadvantages are that it takes a lot of your time and energy, any "damage" you do to the new paintwork will be down to you and you'll need a lot of storage space for your pile of car parts and a well equipped workspace to reassemble everything.

If you feel that all this is beyond you I'd find a decent mechanic who's willing to do the work for you and he'll no doubt be able to recommend a good sprayer.

We had a quote for our W123 based on a bare "rolling" shell being delivered to the bodyshop of £2000 from one of the best independent guys around here - OK that was for a cash job but it was a good price and involved replacing a couple of panels and refitting all the trim (interior and exterior), glass etc afterwards leaving us just the engine and all it's associated parts to refit.

HTH

Andy

If you are going back to bare metal then any colour change is no problem.

 

[Spike]

I recently did this on my W124 CE. I shopped around for quotes here in the UK and they varied for slightly less than £2k for a coverup job (ie windows left in, mask everything and go for it) to £5k for the real bare metal job.

In summer I drove the car to Croatia.. on the way, I found a very hi-tech body shop in Slovenia. We got talking and I was offered a complete bare metal, window out, strip, make good and paint which included replacing front and rear bumpers, some of the chrome and as it turned out one or two panel sections cut out and replaced all for £1400 all in using genuine MB paint and four coats of lacquer.

A complete change of colour would have been more money as the engine & gearbox would need to come out to paint engine bay & the interior, boot and underbody also colourmatched to do the job properly.

They had the car completely done from start to finish in three weeks and I was confident enough to drive the car straight back to the UK the same day as I picked it up from the body shop.

Think about it....its only 13.5 hour drive away. :wink:

Just look at her now

 

[mezza]

Hats off - that is excellent

 

[AMBK]

Spike,

Tha t is a fantastic job!

Andres

 

[Spike]

:lol: Well I am certainly pleased about it!

 

[njpumphrey]

I find it rather telling that there is such an interest in respraying Mercs. It seems to be a real weak point of these otherwise utterly robust and reliable cars.

I got talking to a neighbour at the weekend and he had just had his MG resprayed for under a grand. It looked good to me, and it was a change of colour from black to silver. The guy who did it was a mate of his though... He offered to get a similar price for my w123 estate, but that would be double what I paid for the whole car, and it would only end up spiralling into more and more little jobs. You can end up spending a fortune on your car, and having gone through it once I am now of the opinion that if it is still capable of taking me from A to B, I won't spend any money on it (save for the odd oil change). I do like your respray though Spike. If I had enough money to buy a newer merc I would definitely consider investing in a respray like this straight away.

 

[Spike]

I take your point njpumphrey but I went for the respray not because of rust or bad paintwork, more to get rid of a mirriad of supermarket trolly dings and stonechips.

Personally I think that the paintwork on MB's prior to about 1995 was pretty damn good.

 

[talbir]

I would strongly reccomend AutoCrash Repairs - they are based down in Staples Corner. They are an insurance approved repairer and do excellent work, with many years of experience. (No affiliation etc etc.)

There rates are not too bad - although it depends on whether you want a bottom-half blowover, full respray or color change. If paintwork isn't too bad, then a bottom half blowover is best, since the roof generally doesn't get scratched or dinged etc. Sometimes, depending on color of car, roof can fade, and a full respray is recommended.

A color change is a far bigger challenge. You really need to strip your car COMPLETELY - interior, doors and boot trims, engine bay firewalls, etc etc. Really needs to be just the bodyshell delivered to the painter.

 

[StewartH]

Care to share?

Spike, that is a great deal on a great paint job. Care to disclose the name/details of that bodyshop in Slovenia? For a saving like that it might just be worth the trip! I could combine it with a holiday to really please the missus!

 

[Spike]

I'll try and dig it out for you. Gimme a day or two to find the paperwork.

 

[mjtray]

Spike,

I would also be interested in the details........the job they did on your CE looks fantastic.

Many thanks

 

[Nostrils]

Spike, that is a cracking respray. I too would be interested in the details - Were they a MB specialist or just a great spray shop?

Phil

 

[LeeJSquire]

Spike,
Great job! I would love to see the details, although a quality (and cheap too) paintshop in the West Midlands would also be nice - I have an SLK with a front end like the moon! I'm sure I see older Mercs all the time without this problem - feel a bit robbed but will persevere!
LJS

 

[EEEDELLI]

I think you may find that you're paying more because it's a Merc! (esp. if you want 'Merc' paint and you're going to an 'insurance approved' (i.e. 'licenced ripoff') place.) Unless something drastic has happened recently MB isn't a paint manufacturer so they'll be buying it in from whoever. A good independent paintshop should be able to get you good quality paint much more cheaply, I'd have thought. 'Insurance approved' bodyshops always cost an arm and a leg as they can get money from the insurance companies that indiviuals wouldn't be daft enough to pay for so that's the way they charge, regardless.

The cost is also bound to be a function of labour time so you can save yourself a lot by doing lots of the prep and strip yourself.

Amongst my fleet of old wrecks, I have an old Transit camper van which recently had to have the screen out and under-screen scuttle cut away as it was rotten. This had let water into the batt which had then cascaded acid all over the wing and into a spring hanger which had disintegrated. I had anticipated a bill of £1500+ (and been quoted more) but, by careful searching and doing the stripping out myself, I got the whole lot (incl. new screen) done for under £500. I did all the removal of grilles, surrounds, door trims etc, which will have saved a day of labour. The quality of the paint was splendid and you can't see where it's been blended into the existing paint.

The screen quote from one of the big boys (A1 or whatever) was something like £250. I got a genuine Pilkington screen from a local supplier of safety glass, fitted, for £75. The spray shop was a tiny backstreet place that specialised in classic cars (who are used to dealing with rust!) in a rundown area (hence, cheap rates=low costs). They had some lovely things going through when I went to check them out - all high quality work, so I was happy and they even let me go in every day to photograph and discuss the progress so they clearly had no dodgy practices to hide. I acted as gopher and picked up all the panels etc. myself and supplied everything to them.

It's worth taking the trouble to look around. Ask at classic car rallies etc.

Spike - that's a lovely job though! Now get some Dinitrol and rustproof it properly!

Regards,
D.

 

[CliveM]

I would recommend Jon Alridge Automotive in Wolverhampton (approved MB bodyshop) They did a faultless job on a new bonnet on my A class.

I used them through the local MB dealer (i.e Drayton are listed as having a bodyshop but pass the work on the Jon Aldridge) I think they might be cheaper if you go direct and bypass MB.

Contact details are:

Jon Aldridge Automotive
Drayton St
Wolverhampton West Midlands
WV2 3AB

Tel: 01902 459549

 

[fast-eddie]

Spike!
Lacquer looks like spray on "glass"
Anything special about the process / type of finish etc

 

[fast-eddie]

OOP's !!!!!!!
Replied to wrong message.
Sorreeee

 

[Spike]

At the time of the picture, nothing ha been applied to the paint. As for the process, I have no idea......