Rusty wheel arches and refurbed rims- Warwickshire

[alexspurs61]

Can anyone recommend a place in Warwick to tidy up my front wings? Leading edge of both arches need sorting and living so close to an industrial hotbed (Brum, Cov, etc) I thought someone might be able to point me in the right direction....

Whilst I'm focussing on my locale, a recommendation from me:

In what is now my second week of ownership, I noticed two tyres losing pressure at a rate of 50 and 25% over two days. Kwik Fit (no, it's a great one, really....) told me that it was the state of the rims (as I'd feared) rather than a puncture.

A few minutes fiddling on the wibbly web and a couple of phone calls led me to Spon End Tyres in Coventry.

Bearing in mind that I went to them in the car with all four wheels and tyres needing removal, they had me out of there in fifty minutes with the insides of the wheels properly scrubbed up, tyres refitted AND a nail puncture repaired for the princely sum of £30. That's a fiver per wheel 'making good' and a tenner for the puncture. The place is rough and ready in appearance but they job get done. Final point is that I asked for specific pressure in the tyres; upon checking I found that three were exactly as requested and the fourth was 1 psi out. Ain't bad for a first effort......

Felt I should pass this on as we're all in need of good solid artisans sometimes. Oh, Spon End's number is 02476714148.
Cheers

 

[davebox]

Can you get a pic or two of the offending arches? As someone that has been known to play with metal from time to time I'll try to point you in the right direction.
Email if you wish.

 

[alexspurs61]

Great stuff.
I've attached the pics and I'd be grateful for any advice. Had to compress them so I hope the quality's good enough to give you an idea.

Whereabouts in South Wales are you? I used to live in Monmouth (OK, only just Wales...) and worked across South Wales. Still pop back pretty regularly.

Many thanks; look forward to hearing your advice/thoughts

Alex

 

[davebox]

Ok! If you are going to tackle this yourself it had better be a little at a time. If you have the equipement this would not be a hard job. Best be would be to email me and I can let you know the sort of equipement you will need for the task ahead. It's not going to cost the earth but can add up if you have no tools at all.

Drop an email

I will try today to get some pictures together and give you an idea of what you are letting yourself in for.

I live in Pontllanfraith Nr Blackwood - visit Mon. a bit with my interest in Rally. Up in the woods of the forrest of dean mostly.

 

[alexspurs61]

Many thanks! see email

 

[sixpack]

Rusty arches

Hi.
Ive got a similar problem on my W202, any chance you could put your advice on the forum? I had intended to wire brush the rusty bits and treat with Hammerite Kurust, prime, then paint. Ive done this before but rust always reappears in about a year. What am I doing wrong?

Thanks

Peter

 

[alexspurs61]

Over to you davebox! If you haven't still got your email to me are you happy for me to post all your gems of info up? Don't want to breach copyright ;-)

 

[davebox]

Over to you davebox! If you haven't still got your email to me are you happy for me to post all your gems of info up? Don't want to breach copyright ;-)

Go for it Alex
copyright rights passed to you:wink:
It's good to help others and you can now do just that.

 

[alexspurs61]

Here's the preparation notes from davebox. Haven't done any costings (mine would be pretty much from scratch) but will let you know if I decide to go ahead and do it myself

Cheers


"First thing you would need to think about is the weather. If you have a garage or other method of getting out of it (i.e. Tarp that you can work under) then the prep can be done with no problem.
Secondly. Tools required: You will need something to grind the rot out (Drill with attachment - wire wheel type best, or if you have an angle grinder there are many types of Disk wheels available - if this is what you have or will get then I would recommend the harsh sanding disk) Most people have a drill so would use this option.
If you have a small sander this would help - I think that the MOUSE by Black & Decker is the sort of size to use for jobs like this unless of course you have an air compressor and D.A. (Dual Orbital) sander.
Third is materials. You will need:
(a) Rust Inhibitor - most DIY stores stock at least one make. (b) Filler - again, DIY or a good motor factors. (c) Various grades of sand papers i.e 80 grit, 120 and 240 grit, for sanding shape and 600 grit and 800 grit for prep for paint and finally 1500 grit for finishing the paint. (d) high build primer - I say high build because its the best option for filled area's (e) Paint - this could be the most expensive depending on the options you have available. i.e. if you have spraying equipment. compressor, air line and gun. or having paint mixed in a can or buying ready mixed paint in a can.

The other important thing is how confident you are in your own ability. Would you say that you are someone that if needed would change doors in the house etc or even do the painting when needed? This is important to the overall result. If you are confident then I will try and guide you through the stages of prep and Finnish. You can buy books and mags on body restoration and this would be of immense help. "

 

[davebox]

Couldn't have put it better myself!

If you do decide to go down this road, email me and I'll try and help.;-)

The prep work is important, you have to get the rust out and be sure it's gone. The only way to make sure IMHO is to use a grinder with a stone disk and take the metal back to, well, metal - clean shiny steel. The problem with this is you may have gone through the metal and be left with hole's. This can be sorted as long as you know how to weld and have the gear or know a man that can.

Gets complicated doesn't it?

 

[alexspurs61]

I'm going to look like a total shandy, but having found unpainted wings available at 90 quid a pop isn't it going to work out better to buy them, get them painted and fit them myself? What experience does anyone have of this route? Overall cost?
Not ignoring your advice davebox (because I may take that route) but trying to look at cost-effectiveness vs overall result.
Like I said, great work/advice mate! :wink:

PS - first two tankfuls in my wagon with its teeny, overworked engine have resulted in 28 and 31 mpg. Was expecting low 20s, so this is a nice surprise. As is build quality for 10yr old car, as is comfort as is general integrity, as is.....Oh god, my first Merc and already I feel an addiction coming on....must get a six cyl (or V8!) next time :twisted:

 

[jberks]

Alex,
Have you done any bodywork before?
I rebuilt my car as a student many years ago and there are lots of tricks/techniques to get a good finish that are hard to teach over the internet. I had a friendly bodyshop that I would visit. I had them paint it (cash deal) and they advised and taught me to do the prep myself. Things like cellulose putty, overspray and rub down etc. I would proudly take my perfectly flatted work down and he would look at it, shake his head and show me a moonscape. They applied the paint as I was never going to get the finish from an aerosol that a pro could from a gun and end result was great and still within my miniscule budget.
Replacement panels are always better than treatment as the rust has effectively been cut out, but if you're not used to doing it, getting the lines right, especially from pattern parts could be a bit of a nightmare.

See if you can befriend a back street sprayer. Experience is priceless and can sometimes be found for the price of a couple of pints!.

 

[Blobcat]

Agree with jberks, I have done my fair share of bodywork and vehicle rebuilding. I see paint spraying like plastering as an art form, both of which I have never done enough of to master.
I have a friend who was the bodyshop man for the police. (Unsurprisingly he had lots of practice spraying new panels). The quality of the finish he produces is so much better than the manufacturers original. Do as much as you can then get someone you trust to do the spraying.

 

[alexspurs61]

jberks and blobcat - you're both right. My paint expertise is limited to getting old Kwakas ready for re-sale after I've slid them down a track ;-)
I'm going to be keeping the car for a good while I think (as a new Merc owner, I can feel an addiction coming on) so have decided that getting it done right by a proper artisan is the way forward. And with wings available at waaaay less than I'd expected, it has to make sense.
Next question - how much should I expect to pay for the spraying of a wing in that (fairly common) burgundy Merc colour?
Cheers for all the help guys; I hope to reciprocate one day......

 

[davebox]

Now that's the kind of help I know and trust. You are all right IMO. Prep is an are in itself but when it comes to finishing.....well that's something that only gets mastered with experience. A good local bodyshop would probably charge anything from £100 up per wing depending on the level of prep needed anything below this and you have a rare deal. (just ask to see an eg of work) This is the best way forward to see those rust spots disappear for a long time, I would always recommend new metal wherever pos. :wink:

 

[television]

Spraying is an art, sadly now with modern finnishes it can only be done in a spray booth. New laws that ban the use of cellulose from May 06 will be the end. I had an ICI course back in the 60's. My last work was on a 1928 Rolls Royce where I took best car in show. they were nice times, blending,fading all wasted now.
Preperation is the main key to success, most re finnishers will do just the painting if you prepair. the only snag here is if you have never done any work of this kind, you will not get the base work up to a standard ready for painting. Most paople put the base coat on and think wow fantastic ! its only when you put the top coats on that you see the light reflecting in the fillings and dents. I have watched some people spend the whole summer putting on and rubbing off, and it gets worse and worse.

malcolm

 

[davebox]

What can I say! You either have it or not. Time and effort do not always pay off, but for the most part it can. I have used 2pack without a booth but in a well vented area. Nice deep shine but has to be hot to get it to harden. I did not know that cell'y was being banned? Sad day! dam Europeans need there butt's kicked.
Anyway whatever you decide to do. Best wishes. DB:wink:

 

[alexspurs61]

All wise words and great help guys!

I'm in danger of appearing both needy and lazy! But....
Having arrived at the conclusion that I'll source my own wings (I'm looking at about 100 quid a pop so far it seems) , what would be a reasonable price per wing for getting them painted? I'll get busy on ebay and other bits of the ol' wibbly web but just wondered if there was any experience out there....which there obviously is !

Major digression, but had the great satisfaction of getting an Audio 10 CD tuner in perfect order for 100 quid off ebay. Arrived next day and even without the manual the controls are pretty intuitive.

Yours cheaply, Alex

 

[Ian Brown]

front wings on e-bay http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/NEW-MERCEDES-...569800494QQcategoryZ10398QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

[davebox]

Try this site, just had a look and front wings on a C Class up to 2001 are £45 ish.
link